Whaddya Mean, 'Lemonade'
by J.Rhaye
Summary: A companion piece to: Of Life and Lemonade. A series of vignettes about the other characters in the story who don't have as rosy an outlook on life as Amelia does. UPDATED! Chapter 9: From The Sidelines
1. Adventures in Babysitting

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as short in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up along the way. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. No harm is intended. As always, reviews are encouraged, constructive criticisms appreciated, and any flames shall meet the same fate as the Balrog. Enjoy! ^_^

Spoilers to chapter 5 of _Life._

**Chapter 1**

**_Adventures in Babysitting_**

Xelloss Metallium sat at his large cherry wood desk, and for the past half hour had been staring either at the downtown landscape from his high-rise office or at the piece of paper in his hands. The result: the intense desire to run out of his office, screaming down the hallway, slapping people as he went, before knocking over the water cooler and yelling, "They're coming to take me away! Ha ha! Hee hee! Ho ho…"

Of course, he would _never_ do anything of the sort.

No. He would remain seated in his black leather chair, surrounded by framed awards and a law degree, and staring at a piece of paper that he should have made a decision about yesterday. What the hell was he going to do at the prom of a girl he hardly knew? And even worse, what would his co-workers say if they found out that a grown man was going to a high school function?

Of course, there _were_ perks to taking out his old boss's daughter.

His eyes unfocused as he thought about any possible favors he might need from Judge Philionel. He already had his own office, although it was one in his mother's firm, but there had to be something…

"Mister Metallium?" 

Kira, his too-cute, over-enthusiastic, extremely young secretary knocked on the door and entered. Her pink hair was up in pigtails, as usual, and a stack of papers was wobbling in her hands. It was amazing that, at fifteen, she had already graduated from high school and was attending college to go to law school, which had more than surpassed his own accomplishment of blasting though college and law school in a measly four years. 

"Here are the reports you wanted typed up. I collated them and made copies. Your original is in the plastic folder on the bottom. We ran out of labels, so I hand-wrote the names of the clients on the tabs. That way, it will be easier for you to find and distribute them," she finished brightly. Her cheerfulness sometimes made him nauseous.

"Thank you, Kira," he muttered, and she set the reports down in his "IN" basket. Rather than leaving, though, she glanced at the paper he was holding before he could hide it, and she beamed.

"Wow, Mister Metallium. Which one are you going to pick? Who's it for? What's it for? I think the one with the bells is nice. She'll make music as she walks. It is a 'she' right? Oh, the gold one is pretty, too. Orchids are my favorite flower. So what's it for?"

While she was talking, Xelloss quickly stood and closed the door to his office, hoping desperately that no one had heard anything. Dammit. Just what he needed. A blabbering girl telling everyone in the office that he was looking at corsages. Now what?

"If it's for a lady, it should match her dress, you know. So, what color's her dress? Do you even know? Are you going to wear a tux? Oh, I know! It would look so good if you could match her, you know, the cummerbund-thingy. So, what color's her dress?"

She had spoken so quickly and so _much_ that Xelloss found himself answering before he could stop himself.

"Blue with silver trim."

"Oh, that sounds _pretty_. Then you should pick that one," she babbled, pointing at a corsage of mini white roses and orchids wrapped with blue and silver ribbons. "You should also find out if they can put those bells on that one too. I think she would love it! 'Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, and she makes music, wherever she goes.' Or something like that. Of course, the bells wouldn't be on her toes, would they? No, they'd be on her dress or on her wrist. Oh, there's another thought. Are you going to get a pin corsage or a wrist corsage? Maybe you should ask the florist if they would even do a wrist corsage. The one you picked might not come with it. Hmm… Did you want me to call to find out? I can ask them if they can add the bells on it as well."

"No, I can do that myself, Kira. Thank you."

"Oh, no problem at all Mister Metallium."

"And Kira, do you think we can keep this just between us?"

She squeaked in conspiratorial delight. "Ooh, a secret, you mean?"

Xelloss smiled. "Of course. One thing about being a good lawyer is knowing when to keep a secret."

The smile on her face fell at a thought. "But what do you do if you're under oath? You have to tell the truth then."

"Lawyers are the ones doing the questioning, Kira. We're usually not under oath. But, if you ever are, you can always tell the truth without giving away the secret. It's like a game. To see how long it takes for the other person to figure out the secret when given misleading truths. The trick to keeping a secret is to not offer any information freely, but if asked, any information given needs to be irrelevant but made to seem important. Now, I wouldn't advise this in court, but in real life, there is the opportunity to play this game."

Her eyes widened and she grinned.

"Thank you, Mister Metallium." She skipped away, but before she opened the door, she turned back to him. "And 'it's a secret,' huh?"

Xelloss smirked. "Right, Kira."

With a nod and a smile, she was out the door, closing it behind her. Xelloss looked back down at the paper and circled the corsage Kira had chosen, making a notation about bells next to it. He made a mental note to give his secretary a bonus before he turned his attention to the stack of paper she had given him. Innocent little Kira. She would be so easy to mold to his way of thinking…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Ring. Ring._

"_Hello?_"

"Hello, Zelgadiss. It's Xelloss."

"_Xelloss. Did you get a chance to review my case?_"

"What? No, 'what's going on?' or a 'how are you doing?'"

"_…_"

"'I'm doing fine, Xelloss. How are you?' Or something like that. You realize that you could do with better conversational skills."

"_Funny._"

"That's why I like you Zelgadiss. No matter how upbeat or happy a person is, you're always there to burst his bubble and send him crashing to earth."

"_If only analogies could be true… Come on. Now were you able to review my case?_"

He smirked. It was so fun to rile this guy up.

"Alright, alright. Yes, I did, but I need to see if there's a precedent first. There are too many angles to cover. Also, the man you needed information on is on a higher classification level than I can access. Weren't you able to find anything in the public records?"

"_They're overworked over there. I requested something two weeks ago, and when I called back today, they said they never received it._"

"Problems of a bureaucracy. I'll see what I can dig up on my end. Do you need the whole background check or just the minimum?"

"_As much as I can get. Using any of the computer systems at the station would set up a red flag, and I don't want to do that._"

"Alright, I'll see what I can do… By the way, are you doing anything on Saturday? I'm going to need a limo for the night. Let's just say that you don't have to pay me for looking up that information for you."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before he answered.

"_That's the reason you called me, isn't it? You weren't going to give me an update at all…_"

"Tsk. Tsk. No need to get testy, Zelgadiss. I _did_ look at your case, and I _do_ need to check the books, and I _did_ have problems getting that information, and I _do_ need a limousine on Saturday. Is there anything wrong with _any_ of that?"

"_No… no, I guess not._"

"Good, then pick me up at five o'clock on Saturday. Can I make a special request?"

"_What's that?_"

"Wear a suit and a chauffeur's cap."

"_Trying to impress someone?_"

Xelloss could hear the smirk on the other end of the line. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Just be there," he muttered, quite irritated, and before he clicked the line off, he heard Zelgadiss chuckling. He smirked in return. Touché. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The prom had been interesting, to put it mildly, but the best part, by far, was kissing the boss's daughter in the back of the limousine, even with the subsequent lump on his head from that pothole. That damned pothole.

Xelloss stretched out in the back of the limo on the way home, feeling quite pleased with himself. The youngest Seyruun daughter turned out to be quite a bit of a wild girl herself. She could dance and drink, and she _felt_ quite nice, too... He couldn't wait until she turned eighteen.

The privacy glass rolled down, and a pair of aquamarine eyes glared back at him.

"Cheshire cat? Or the cat who ate the canary?" Zelgadiss asked.

"I've always been partial to fish, so I suppose that would make me the Cheshire cat. I like his habit of popping in and out of the place, leaving his smile behind." He put his hands behind his head and leaned back. He looked like the Cheshire cat who ate the canary.

"Well, the next time you decide to make an appearance in my limo, tell me if you're bringing a minor. That was expensive stuff."

"I'll buy you more. Patron and Stoli, right? Besides, those three drinks didn't do anything to her. It was whoever spiked the punch." He added, under his breath, "Bless his heart."

He allowed his mind to wander, and of course, it landed on Miss Amelia. Little Amelia dancing, smiling, laughing, kissing… Oh, could she kiss. Perhaps not as well as…

"So, was it any good?" Zelgadiss asked, breaking his train of thought.

"I… I beg your pardon?"

"Prom." Oh, that. Xelloss breathed a sigh of relief, and Zel went on. "Mine sucked. The band was lame, the food was terrible, and my date took off to be with her friends the second we got there."

Poor Zelgadiss.

"It was definitely better than mine," Xelloss said, sitting up. "I had filet mignon."

Zel made a gagging sound. "Don't remind me. That's what I ordered at my prom, and it ended up being _over_ cooked and tough."

"No, this was juicy and done just right."

He smirked at his double entendre as he began to gather his few belongings together. They were approaching his apartment, a beautiful bachelor pad in a high-rise downtown, just a few blocks from his work. Zelgadiss pulled up to the curb and stopped.

"Thanks, Zel. You don't have to open the door for me. I'll look up what I can for you, but I might need a little help with something later."

Zelgadiss turned around and gave him a withering look through the partition.

"Oh, come off it. I gave you and your date a ride…"

"And I'd like to see that date again, but I don't want some of her friends to know about it. I've got a proposition for you…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The light was blinking on his answering machine when he walked into his apartment. It was a clean and modern place, with central air and heat. Modern art adorned the walls, and all the latest electronics were throughout his house. With a touch of a button, the soothing sound of a saxophone playing issued forth from strategically placed and hidden speakers around the room. He removed his tie and jacket and threw them on the black marble countertop in the kitchen.

He pressed the button on the answering machine and groaned when a woman's husky voice filtered into the room:

_"Xelloss, hon. It's your mother. I need your help next week planning the party. I don't trust any of these idiots. I don't know **why** I'm paying them. Now I know you said you were probably going to busy, but I absolutely **need** you to be there to supervise everything over the weekend. Well, whatever it is that you're doing will just have to wait. These morons haven't even gotten the caterers booked, and I think the banquet hall costs way too much. I need you to look over the menu and we'll need a band as well. The awards need to be transported to the hall…"_

Damn. Well, there went Amelia's party. Perhaps he could sneak off for a few hours when he wasn't needed. He couldn't believe his mother wanted to have a stupid award ceremony for her stupid circle of friends and their stupid _dogs_. Who in their right mind would give an award to her friends' dogs for insignificant things such as: "Best Teeth" or, "Best Hairstyle" or, even worse, "Cuddliest Pooch"???

Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, he began writing down the instructions his mother dictated, and after fifteen minutes of her rambling message, began to formulate a plan that would not only allow him to do his mother's insane bidding, but might just allow him time to see Amelia as well. He tapped the pen on the table and grinned. Now if he could only convince Zelgadiss to do his dirty work for him…

***************************

A/N: Surprise everyone! I know it's not much, and it doesn't really _go_ anywhere, but as I was writing _Of Life and Lemonade_, I began to think of the other characters and what they were doing while Amelia was being Amelia (also after some requests from some of my reviewers as well). This series is meant to be a companion piece to _Of Life and Lemonade_ and won't go too much into the plot, but it will give a little background about our other characters as well as some side stories. This will not update as often, but I hope you still enjoy!

Click the button and review!


	2. Going Home

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. No harm is intended.

Occurs around chapters 2 & 3, but spoilers to chapter 10 of _Life._

**Chapter 2**

**_Going Home_**

The landscape was a blur of greens and blues as Val stared out of the window of the train while it blazed its way east to the neighboring Kataart Mountains. With each flash of a passing sign or tree, bits of memories came to him, unwanted and uncalled for, but expected nonetheless. He shut his eyes against the thoughts, but they appeared in the darkness of his mind as they often did when he was alone. 

Damn. He hated being alone.

His thumb pressed down on the button of his CD player and music filled the gloominess of his thoughts. Pictures of the singers' beautiful, smiling, and happy faces replaced the grimaces of pain and the tears of grief. He remembered happier times. Better times. When his mother and father and sisters and brothers still lived…

* * * * * * *

His whole family had been, apparently, very talented and very popular in Kataart, not that he really remembered the world outside of his immediate relatives. His mother played the violin as well as sang in a beautiful soprano, his father sang in a rich tenor, his older sister was an amazing painter, his oldest brother played the piano, his second older brother was a quiet alto, and his baby sister was the enthusiastic soprano. He remembered them all singing and dancing and playing instruments together in front of huge crowds. They were a regular Von Trapp family group. Singers, musicians, artists. 

Idolized. Revered.

Murdered, for wanting a better life than what they were given by the government.

Oh, he had stopped blaming Filia and her family long ago, but not without a lot of grief and heartache. How were they to know that someone would tip off the officials that they weren't just going for a family outing to a friend's cabin in the woods? How were they to know that the man they had commissioned to smuggle them all out on his riverboat would be cunningly replaced by a spy?

Val's baby sister, Nadia, had been the first one to die. They had all braved the icy water to escape the boat when they discovered it was actually headed back to the capitol. Val held onto her tightly, trying desperately to keep her head above the water and swim at the same time, but his skinny arms had soon turned numb, and it was all he could do to keep himself afloat. Bellana, his older sister, swam over to take her from him, but before she could, he was swept into a huge rock and went under.

He vaguely remembered fighting the current that pinned him in place under water and the frantic thought that he mustn't let go of Nadia. His next memories were of Bellana waking him up on the icy riverbank, tugging him forward so they could move on. It wasn't until they met up with his parents and brothers that he learned that the only way Bell could save Val was to pry his grasp from his already dead sister.

* * * * * * *

Val opened his eyes and flexed his hand. If only he had been stronger back then. If only Bell hadn't felt responsible for their baby sister's death. He turned his gaze to his surroundings. They were still about two more hours away from the station. The mountains were fast approaching, but it would take a while to cross them to get to the valley beyond.

He rummaged in his backpack and found his sketchpad and pencil. Taking it out, he began to draw. He learned how to channel his thoughts and feelings into more positive outlets rather than bottling them up, and he found that he, too, had a talent for art as well. Sketching from memory, he began to draw his brothers, Arman and Petyr. 

* * * * * * *

He remembered playing with them, playing pranks on their sisters. The three boys were born, sandwiched between the two girls, and Petyr was the middle of the middle. He and Val were closer in age, and therefore tended to play the same games when Arman scoffed at being too old for those childish things. Petyr, whose looks so closely resembled his own, had been Val's best friend.

On that frozen riverbank, Arman had pushed them on in front of him as they ran, and though no one said anything, the look he had given Val when Bell explained what happened to Nadia chilled him more than the wet clothes he was in. Petyr ran beside him and gave him a sympathetic punch on the shoulder, but his oldest brother blamed him for letting their baby sister die. Hell, he already blamed himself, why not Arman?

Gunshots rang out, and Petyr stumbled into him, knocking him to the icy ground. Val pushed himself up and saw all the blood spreading across Petyr's back. He tried to pick him up, but just then, Arman ran by, and grabbed onto Val's shirt as he went, yelling at him to run. Val fought his brother to go back and help, but he told him it was too late. Arman slung him over his shoulder and continued running. In that moment, Val realized that Petyr was gone from him forever.

* * * * * * *

As his mind drifted to the past, he realized that he had finished the drawing. Arman was holding Petyr in a headlock, something the older boy used to do to him as well. He was several years older than Val and Petyr, and was very popular with the young women in the city. Arman was the handsome one and he was hoping for a scholarship to Seyruun's University of Performing Arts. It was one way to get out of the country. 

He scrawled a quick signature at the bottom, and then replaced the book and his pencil in his backpack. He checked his watch and looked outside. They were crossing the mountains now, sometimes ducking into a tunnel that burrowed deep under the mountain, sometimes skirting along the edges. In another hour, the train would arrive at the station. 

Usually, in depressing situations like this, he would not be wallowing in grief. He'd just try and find something to occupy his mind and his time. This, however, was the fifth anniversary of the end of the war and the opening of the borders. It also marked the fifth anniversary of the memorial being erected at the river. He would visit that tomorrow.

No longer in the mood for music, he stopped the CD player and removed his headphones, carefully stashing them away in his bag as he tried to find something else to do. After several minutes of useless searching, he gave up and turned his attention, once again, to the world outside the train.

The countryside continued to rush by, but he focused his attention on the white tufts of clouds, forming amusing and disturbing shapes in his mind. Even this, though, did nothing to lighten the shadow that clung to him.

* * * * * * *

Although he and his oldest brother were not as close as he was with Petyr, Arman was always the fun one, getting them to play pranks on their sisters or their parents. He tended to disappear when one backfired, leaving the other two to deal with the punishments.

After running an inhuman amount of time carrying his little brother in these snowy conditions, Arman finally stopped and set Val down. Val was about to punch him for leaving their brother behind, but then he saw the tear-tracks down his handsome face. He was breathing heavily, gasping for breath. 

No. He shouldn't have had to carry him all this way! Now he wouldn't be able to run…

Val pleaded with him to get up, but Arman couldn't. He was too tired. The next thing he knew, his mother and sister were pulling him away from his brother, and he was talking in low tones with his father. When his father joined them, Arman was not with him. Instead, he was hobbling through the woods, bumping into trees left and right, _away_ from them!

Bellana's hand covered his mouth before he could scream, and the four snuck off into the night. It was only the next day that Val discovered that Arman told his father to continue on, and that he would try to lead their pursuers away to buy them more time. And he hadn't even said goodbye.

* * * * * * *

The train slowed, shuddering to a loud and whining stop at the station, and Val picked up his backpack. Taking a quick glance around the compartment for anything he might have left behind, he stepped out into the aisle and then off the train.

Kataart Station was older and more run-down than the one in Seyruun, but there were indications that the place was coming into the twenty-first century. They were retrofitting the building as well as updating their fleet of trains to the faster model that Val had just arrived on. No one paid him any heed, which was what he wanted. He couldn't handle if the press ever hounded him about his family. Having already dealt with that in Seyruun when he was too young to know how to deal with it, he was glad the media hype surrounding his family's tragic circumstances was long forgotten.

He walked the short distance to the hotel where he was staying for the night and checked in before wandering the town in search of something to eat. He found a nice little mom 'n' pop place nearby, and ordered almost every comfort food on the menu. The brief thought of having a drink to toast his family crossed his mind, but he remembered that drinking alone was the worst kind of drinking. Instead, he ate all the types of food he remembered eating as a child.

After receiving his order to go, he paid the waitress and returned to his hotel to wait until the morning. As ever, he slept fitfully that night.

* * * * * * *

They had been running for what seemed like weeks, but in truth, it had only been two days. Arman's sacrifice worked to distract the soldiers, but the remaining four stopped only long enough to rest for a couple of hours before continuing on their exhausting journey. They had no food, but water was plentiful enough in the ice that surrounded them and in the light snow that constantly fell from the grey sky.

None spoke of their grief, but it showed silently on each one's face, and none so much as his mother. Her fingers were chapped and bleeding, and Val remembered childishly thinking that she would have a hard time playing the violin. Her face betrayed such a sense of anguish and loss that, for the first time, he wished they had never thought to try to escape. Then she would not have to experience such pain.

His father pulled Val aside later that day, and detailed out to him the directions to the border where, once they crossed, they would be safe. He made him repeat it over and over and commit it to memory.

* * * * * * *

Even today, the area they had fled through was still largely uninhabited, but Val still remembered his father's simple instructions.

"At the bottom of this mountain, you must cross the stream at the fork. Follow the left fork until it becomes a waterfall and empties into the river. Follow the river through the mountains. It will seem like a labyrinth, but keep to the river. When you are out of the mountains, you are out of Kataart, and you are free."

Val paid the cab fare and shouldered his bag, heavier now than when he arrived. He was garbed in shorts and a t-shirt and appeared to be a typical tourist. He was anything but that. The cab left him on the side of a dirt road, just above the river where his baby sister had died.

He trudged down to the edge of the river, and double-checked that all his valuables and his food were in their waterproof bags inside his backpack. Finding a large enough piece of driftwood, he carried it to the river, placed his bag in a crook where it would stay mostly dry, and then waded out into the chilly water.

He couldn't believe that the springtime river was actually _warmer_ than the autumn time river. All he knew was that it was cold enough to take his breath away now. He swam across the river with the wood, and when he came ashore, he was amazed that an eight-year-old boy could attempt to make that swim holding onto his little sister.

Shivering and cold, he still reached into his backpack and one of the waterproof bags, and carefully extracted a tiny pastry. This sweet was Nadia's favorite.

"See, Nadia? Big brother will always buy you a treat." He set the pastry in its paper holder onto the river, blowing a kiss as it floated away. "I will miss you forever."

Val stood silently on the riverbank, watching it until it floated out of sight. Wiping at his eyes, he closed up his bag and continued on.

* * * * * * *

When Val had repeated the instructions enough times to his father's satisfaction, Walter pulled his son and daughter into a fierce hug. Anna wrapped her arms around them all. She whispered words of love and encouragement into his and his sister's ears, telling them that they must live. His father was whispering to Bell, and tears continued to stream down her face as she listened. That moment was the warmest he had been in the last couple of days, but it soon became one of the coldest as well.

Val didn't understand what was really happening until his parents released them, and Bellana led him away. They had the same grim determination in their eyes that Arman had. They stood, hand in hand, watching their last remaining children continuing on.

They were going to leave him!

Bell had a difficult time getting him to calm down, but when she finally did, he tried to shut out the thought of his parents, his wonderfully kind and loving parents, dying in the cold and the dark. 

* * * * * * *

As Val trekked through the forest, he paused now and again as he wondered if this place or that was where his brothers and his parents died. Time and memory were kind to him, and no signs or recollections of the places of any of those gruesome acts had survived the last eleven years. He stopped to rest and eat a couple of times throughout the day, and once again marveled at his younger self being able to go so far without food or much rest.

Just before night fell, he had arrived at the memorial to his family, deep in the Kataart forest. It was a waist-high stone made of a boulder that had been there for ages, and upon its face was carved the story of the Agares' flight from Kataart and a short description of their fates. Walter and Anna: executed on site. Bellana: shot and drowned. Arman: prolonged exposure to cold. Petyr: shot. Nadia: drowned. Val: only survivor.

"Master Val, you have arrived," a young man said, stepping forward with a lantern. He was a local monk who had decided to live at the memorial, not only to keep it clean and unspoiled, but also to keep up the tiny hut for when Val made his visits.

"Yeah, I just got here. I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Take all the time you want," he said, bowing and leaving the lantern for Val in the dimming light.

"Thanks," he threw over his shoulder. 

His eyes were glued to the memorial. Not only was their story carved into the stone, but a bronze plaque, with a family picture set in relief, was firmly attached to it as well.

Val's fingers trailed over each of their faces, even his own, as he tried to commit them to memory once again. He never wanted to forget them. Digging into his bag, yet again, he pulled out the drawing he had made as well as a current picture of him, surrounded by his friends.

"This is for you guys," he said, placing on the memorial the sketch he had done on the train. The faces had been smoothed to a young man's recollections of long-missed older brothers, but at a glance, one could tell who they were. "I miss our pranks and all the fun we used to have. This is how I like to remember you."

"Here's a recent picture of me, mom and dad." He placed it next to the sketch. "I'm growing up, and calming down, I guess. But I'm changing the world, just like I promised I would. A little at a time, but I'm making a difference. I miss you all."

Silent tears streamed down his face as he hummed, low, but clear, the song that his mother loved singing. He couldn't remember the words, but his mother had always said, "If you don't know the words, hum along." Val hummed all the songs he forgot the words to that night for them.

* * * * * * *

They had reached the stream easily enough and had taken the left fork, just as father had said, but that was when the soldiers had caught up with them. Bellana pushed and pulled Val along, never letting go of his hand. She promised with tears in her eyes, that she would always be with him, no matter what. _I won't let you die_. 

He believed her.

When they arrived at the waterfall, she ordered him to climb down first, and he scrambled down the slippery rocks. He had gotten halfway down when he chanced to look up. She was supposed to be right above him…

Bell was still at the top, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at something behind them. Then a single shot rang out, and his beautiful sister went falling over the cliff. As if time slowed, he watched her pass him as she fell, her long green hair fluttering about her sad face. She saw him, and a look of abject sorrow filled her eyes.

And then she was gone, disappearing beneath the foaming water below. _I won't leave you…_ Val let go and fell into the water after her.

* * * * * * *

Val left early the next morning after a nice hot meal. After chatting with the monk, he knew that the items he left would be stored safely within the hut. They would then be transported to a nearby monastery when the monk next received a visitor from that place.

By noon, he had made it all the way to the waterfall where his older sister had met her death, and where he had been washed away to freedom. Opening his backpack, he pulled out a re-print of one of his favorite pictures. He had snuck up behind Filia as she posed for a picture and hung an arm about her shoulders. The picture was of her smacking him with a smirk on her face, while he was grinning widely.

"I finally know what you were talking about, Bell," he said to the wind. "Even though we're only a year apart, Filia's the big sister I know you would be to me now. She'll never take your place, but she's keeping me in line. I know that you'll always be with me."

He looked once more at the picture, and at a pair of fingers held in a "V" that was high above his head. He chuckled. "I have another friend, Amelia. She reminds me a lot of Nadia, with her spirit. I think you'd have liked them both." 

With a deep, cleansing sigh, he turned around and addressed the forest. "I've had a couple of bumps along the way, but I'm starting to get my life back in order. All my friends are becoming my family, and I'm not feeling so lost anymore. I'm not sure yet if I'm ready to take our name back, but I will, one day. I promise."

With that, he took the path down to the river below, and followed it through the labyrinth, out of Kataart, to the small village beyond. 

With that, he was going home.

*******************************

A/N: This was supposed to be a quick chapter about Val and it turned out to be angst galore! I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out. *Just a quick note, I amended ch. 10 of _Life_ to fix the name of Val's family and to add the fact that he was adopted.* I hope that helped to fill in some of the gaps about him. ^_^ 

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	3. Best in Show

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. No harm is intended.

Spoilers to chapters 12 & 13 of _Life._

**Chapter 3**

**_Best in Show_**

"You're kidding me, right?"

Xelloss stood in the middle of a huge hall – or auditorium, more like it – on a vast blue carpet, staring up at the huge bleachers set up on three sides. At the fourth side, an enormous blue curtain hung from the rafters and reached down to pool up on the floor. Workers were standing by, clearly waiting for his direction.

"What did you think it was, Xelloss-dear?" the gorgeous blonde woman wondered, scratching behind the ear of the Alaskan Malamute seated obediently by her side. She was dressed in a light blue business suit, and her long flowing hair cascaded in waves down her back. With her free hand, she patted him on the cheek, and her many bracelets chimed with the movement. "I told you that I didn't trust anyone to pull this off. _You_ can get it done."

"Yes, Mother," he grumbled as she walked away, and he heard several of the workers whispering about the 'M.I.L.F.' that was sauntering away. He silenced them with a withering glare, and they scurried off to find something to do to appear busy.

Xelloss couldn't believe his stupid luck. The 'little award show' that his mother had planned was actually an all-out affair, and had he been paying attention for the past four years, he would have known that his mother's firm was backing the biggest dog show in Saillune. This was the Fourth Annual Ruby-Eye Cup, and owners, breeders, and handlers from all over the country would be flooding into town in a couple of days. 

It had started out as Xelloss had thought: his mother had all her corporate friends in a silly little competition and had handed out trophies and ribbons to the winners. The next year, they had added a talent section to the show, and required that each dog complete a time and agility course as well as perform well in the exhibition. One stipulation that Zelas had insisted upon was that the dogs did _not _have to be purebred or even AKC certified, which was looked upon as almost scandalous. She endured. By the third year, Zelas had worked out the kinks, and purely by word of mouth her award ceremony had become an instant hit with the corporate crowd. The men and women also used the time to make acquaintances and seal deals, all the while urging their dogs to run through obstacle courses and show off their perfectly placed paws.

Of course, Xelloss tried to stay away from it all, but it had been easier a couple of years ago. Back then, he had been pleasantly occupied with a certain young woman who had caught his fancy. The time he had spent with _her_ had proven useful because his absence forced his mother to find someone else to be her 'go-to guy'. Ever since then, however, Zelas had relied on him to do her bidding more and more often, the dog show being the latest in a series of self-humiliating fiascos.

"I'm a lawyer, dammit, not a dog show host," Xelloss grumbled as he stalked off to find the foreman. He squashed whatever pleasant memory he had dredged up and buried it beneath the mountains of dog crap he knew he would be wading through over the next few days.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ladies and gentlemen," Xelloss announced to the cheering throng of people seated in the bleachers. He was wearing his tuxedo and bow tie, and was sweating under all these harsh floodlights. Reading from an index card, he prepared himself to be his mother's dog show host. "I'd like to welcome you to the Fourth Annual Ruby-Eye Cup!"

He wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

All the while smiling, with a flourish of his arm towards the huge hanging curtain, he beckoned forth the dogs: Border collies, German shepherds, Poodles, Weimaraners, Terriers, Bloodhounds, Akitas, Bishon frises, Shih tzus, Pomeranians, Greyhounds, Retrievers, Boxers, and dozens of others, even some very interesting mixed breeds.

The animals ran beside their handlers, and if it could be said that a dog and its owner resembled each other, it could also be said that a dog's personality and its handler's personality fit together as well. With smiles and lively steps, the humans and animals ran around in a huge circle around the auditorium.

Xelloss, thankful to finally be taking a seat, found his way to his chair at the announcer's table. His job was to open and close the show, and act as the color commentator for the broadcast of the event. Why the hell would his mother ask him to do this? He didn't know the first thing about dogs, much less shows.

"Hi, Mister Metallium?" A young woman with large blue eyes and green hair held in place with a headband was waiting for him at the table. He tried not to stare at her bizarre hairstyle, short and wavy with two huge curls hanging down on either side of her face, but he figured she might be trying not to stare at his hair as well. She stuck out her hand, and when he took it, she shook it heartily.

"Wow. It's an honor, really," she gushed, and he could almost see hearts in her eyes. Taking his hand back, he allowed her to pull out his chair so he could sit down. To his dismay, she sat in the seat beside him. "Oh, by the way, I'm Martina Navratilova. My father's been coming to the Ruby-Eye Competition for the last three years. He's the one who owns the Greyhound there."

She pointed to a small lean dog running beside an older gentleman with long wavy black hair and a pointed moustache.

"Is _that_ your father?" Xelloss asked, despite the fact that he was not enjoying his current predicament. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but the man looked nothing like this girl. She beamed and nodded, however, as she handed him his headphones. The surrounding noise was immediately muffled when he placed them over his ears, but when she spoke, her voice rang clear through the headphones.

"Father's ambitious, but he didn't think he could win until I pushed him to enter. I've been covering the show for the last couple of years. Oh, we're on in ten? Okay, Mister Metallium…"

"Xelloss."

She giggled. "Okay, Xelloss. Here we go… Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the Fourth Annual Ruby-Eye Cup. I'm Martina Navratilova, and I'm joined here by Xelloss Metallium. This is an exciting event, wouldn't you say, Xelloss?"

He hadn't seen the camera roll up before them, but Martina was smiling pleasantly at him after addressing the lens. Used to pressure, he pasted on his smile and answered her.

"Yes it is, Martina. You can feel the anticipation in the air, and I see several entries here that had graced us with their presence last year." Of course, he didn't know who they were, but he had overheard his mother mentioning something of the kind to him while she was babbling all about this thing.

"Right you are, Xelloss. Returning for another round is the Shih tzu 'Boomerang' owned by Mimi and Nene and handled by Mimi, the standard Poodle 'Silver' owned by Carrie and handled by Hallas, and the Bloodhound 'Zahaad' owned and handled by Sarina. These are just a few of the beautiful entries that we have here today."

At a loss for what to say next, he figured on stating the obvious. "Mimi and Nene are twins, right?"

Jeez, he felt so stupid. But there was Martina, never missing a beat and picking up the thread he had tossed to her.

"That's right. They hail from a small town on the outskirts of Sairaag…"

The show became easier after that, and Xelloss was grateful for the girl's presence. She had a tremendous knowledge of the event that was supplemented by pages and pages of notes, which she sorted through every now and again, dropping one or two in the process. Xelloss had to retrieve the lost pages at least five times throughout the day. He didn't mind. It kept her occupied, and he was actually _learning_ something new. Of course, it was something pointless to him, so he hardly expected any of it to soak in.

Apparently, these were the preliminary rounds where the entries were whittled down to the top five dogs in each category: sporting, non-sporting, toy, working, hound, terrier, and herding. The agility trials consisted of a huge course of jumps, tunnels, an A-frame, and a slalom that the dogs needed to navigate as quickly and cleanly as possible. The handler's commands were key to their performance since they needed to memorize the order of the obstacles. Cheers and screams tended to dominate that portion of the event. The show section was more low key, but just as important. Obedience was essential since breed standards were not judged.

While all this was fascinating, Xelloss found himself wanting to fall asleep. Thankfully, during the down times between each category, Martina brought him to the holding area behind the huge curtain, where the dogs were kept and groomed until their turn on the carpet.

If he had thought that this was a friendly exchange between friends and rivals, he was sorely mistaken. Hardly anyone was smiling, and it seemed as though tempers were running high.

"I don't know where it is!" Nene was yelling at her sister. One hand was on her hip, and the other was on a CD player, which was open, but empty.

"You were the one who was supposed to bring the CD. Now what's Boomerang going to do to relax, huh?" Mimi countered, crossing her arms in front of her chest and staring her down. She was a rather imposing sight in that Chinese dress with her hair up in pigtail buns.

"I _brought_ it! I just don't know where it is!"

"That doesn't help us, does it?"

"Well, maybe we should just do it ourselves, then," Nene suggested. 

After several moments, Mimi relented. To Xelloss' surprise, the two women knelt beside the Shih tzu, who was resting on a pillow in her crate, and they began to sing to it.

"They did that last year, too," Martina commented haughtily as they continued on. "It's sad what some women will do to attract a man's attention."

Xelloss glanced back over his shoulder, and sure enough, several of the young men had wandered over to listen to the women sing. This wasn't looked upon too kindly by one of the nearby owners, and the older woman was pulling one man away forcibly by the ear.

"What kind of example is that for you make, you simpering toad? What would my daughter say if she saw you skirt-chasing like that?"

"Carrie, it's not like I'm engaged to her or anything…"

"Hallas, you fool! I'm not going to be embarrassed by some young whelp. You're supposed to be taking care of Silver…" she continued ripping into him as she dragged him away.

Xelloss felt a slight tug on his arm, and was surprised to see Martina latched onto his elbow, apparently trying to take him away from the chaos. He tried to hide his disappointment: he had wanted to see a fight occur and offer his services to whoever paid more. Oh well. Perhaps next time. 

She led him through the aisles of crates, and he was able to see many of the dogs up close. One, in particular, struck him as an interesting specimen. It was a small pug, light brown with dark markings around his nose and eyes, as well as the tips of his ears and tail. It was ugly enough to be cute.

"This is Frank," an older gentleman said in a gruff voice as he scratched behind the dog's ear. He was dressed in a standard black suit and was very nondescript, except for the sunglasses. Xelloss thought it was a bit over the top to wear shades indoors at a _dog show_.

"Hi, Frank," Xelloss said to the dog, with his hands behind his back. To his horror, the owner picked up the animal and held it out to him.

"This is one feisty bastard, let me tell you. He'd as soon piss on you as bite your hand, but get him into the competition, and he'd beat them all."

"That's nice…"

"Now take the agility trials. He can corner on a dime and is faster than any of these pups… Oh, damn. Sorry 'bout that. Told you he'd as soon piss on you…"

Xelloss had to abandon his jacket and shirt after the dog relieved itself on him, and he sent someone to get them dry-cleaned for the next day. Dog pee was something he'd figure he'd have to smell at this event, but just not so close. At least the tux was a rental. He even got Frank's owner to pay for it.

After changing into his tan shirt and using his black suit jacket, Xelloss rejoined his partner at the table. Martina apologized to him and spent the rest of the show taking the reins after he showed her how much he disliked being urinated on by one of the contestants. Of course, he also realized that she was trying to impress him, and he was very keen to let her have her way. After all, if he could do his job without really doing his job, all the better for him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xelloss barely had enough time after the show to drop by one of the local malls, blow fifty bucks on a necklace for Amelia (a very nice choice by the salesperson, by the way), and make it to her house before Zelgadiss had left. He couldn't really count on the man to stay for any length of time anywhere there was a lot of people, but luckily for him, Zel was still there. After dropping off the gift, he was able to meet Martina at the restaurant for the drink she had promised him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"And welcome back to the Fourth Annual Ruby-Eye Cup! What a great turnout we have here today, Martina."

"Right you are, Xelloss. Today is the final judging of each class, and also the judging for the Best in Show. Our top picks for today are as you might imagine; Boomerang, Silver, and Zahaad make repeat appearances, but newcomers Wegman and Pocket will surely give them a run for their money. One surprise that we have, though, is _your_ pick, Xelloss. Frank has made it into the finals."

Xelloss fought off a glower at the mention of the pug, and smiled instead. "I think that animal will have a tough time with the _pee-rs_ in his category, like the _Shih tzu_ Boomerang, but he's a little _pis-tol_ who they shouldn't count out. He _ap-pea-rs_ to be a fine specimen. _You're in_ for a treat with that little pug."

Martina stared wide-eyed at him before regaining her composure and returning to her commentating. He saw a grin tug at her lips as she tried to give the stats on the dogs, especially Frank. A brief flash of another woman's gorgeous face with a grin fighting its way onto her lips stunned Xelloss, and he blinked several times to clear the image from his mind.

Why? Why now, after all this time was he thinking about _her_?

Xelloss tried to concentrate on the task before him, and ever so slowly, he pushed the blonde back into the dark corner of his mind where he had shoved her so many months… years ago. That woman was no longer in his life, and he was actually glad for that fact. With a forced smile, he returned his attention to the show.

The best of the best showed their stuff in the final runs of the agility test, as well as obedience training, though one precocious terrier lifted its leg and then jumped on the judge. 'Blackjack' was summarily disqualified. Breed standards were not judged, per the Cup rules, but overall appearances were taken into account.

After all was said and done, Frank had beaten all the dogs for Best in Show. He had won over the likes of Silver and Boomerang, sending their owners into fits. After the awards ceremony, Kay, Frank's owner and handler, strangely disappeared with the dog, the trophy, and ribbon before anyone could interview him, but no one remembered seeing them leave. Martina was not pleased, but she chalked it up to his bad temperament. Apparently, she was a budding reporter, and her father's connection to the show had landed her the spot of covering the event.

A huge banquet in the nearby hall was set up, and the human crowd was able to mingle and chat with each other over a scrumptious dinner, catered by the great Ashford. Zelas finally cornered her son and congratulated him on a great job of hosting the show.

"I honestly didn't know much of what I was doing, Mother," he grumbled to her, though she hardly seemed to be paying any attention to him. Her eyes were roving over the hall. "Miss Martina seemed to know more of what was going on than I did."

"You did a wonderful job, dear. That Navratilova girl was a real find, wouldn't you say? Her father's supposed to be here, and we were supposed to go over a few things… Ah, there he is. If you'd excuse me, my dear."

"Of course."

With a sigh, he glanced at his Rolex and realized that he was going to be late for dinner with Amelia if he didn't get a move on. Before he could take two steps, though, Martina stepped in front of him, hearts in her eyes.

"Oh, Mister Xelloss, that was a great show, don't you think? You did such a great job of choosing the Best in Show."

"I don't think being urinated on would be considered choosing…"

Her giggle cut him off. "That's not what I meant. I know that you were kind of pushed into this, but you did a great job not knowing much about the subject."

"That's my job, Miss Martina. I treat everything that happens as if I already knew it was going to happen, whether or not I actually did. Lawyer's secret." He winked, and she almost swooned.

"Wow. I don't know how you do it. As a reporter, I'm usually supposed to treat things as if they are new and exciting." 

Her big blue eyes were wide and adoring, not quite like Amelia's. More like… 

Damn.

"It's simple," Xelloss said, cutting off the path his mind was taking. "Why don't we discuss it over a couple of drinks." _And you can try to forget about **her** while you're at it_, a voice told him, but he ignored it.

Besides, he justified, how could he pass up the chance to make a new acquaintance, especially one so willing to please as Martina? Perhaps he could figure out a way to swing this whole experience to his advantage after all. He led her away to the bar, figuring that Zelgadiss could take control of the situation at dinner for him until he arrived. Amelia could wait for a while. She would be in good hands with his anti-social friend.

***************************

A/N: 'M.I.L.F.' is an abbreviation found in 'American Pie' that, while crude, is actually kind of funny in Xelloss' situation. It stands for: 'Mother I'd Like to F…' And if anyone has seen that movie as well as 'Best In Show' the actress who plays Stiffler's mom is the same actress who plays Sherri Ann. Jennifer Coolidge is so funny… ^_^ By the way, can anyone identify our mystery guests in the fic? (Outside of Xelloss, Martina, and Zelas.) Chocolate goes to whoever can guess all nine of them and where they came from!  @_@

Special thanks to those who've reviewed! **Kaeru Shisho** (I'm glad you liked Val. Xelloss is always fun to play with, so I think he will make a few more appearances. He's so wonderfully self-serving, but subject to his mother's whims. He's got to have an Achilles' heel somewhere. ^_^), **Valk** (Thank you! The chapters with Xelloss tend to be a little more light-hearted, so until I get to his more complicated story, we'll get to see him in less than perfect situations. ^_^), **katy** (Wow. I'd like to say that I picked the stores up from Hawaii, but I didn't. They're just two stores plucked from any mall and positioned in a way that fit me. Or maybe I'm just psychic… Just kidding. ~_^), **Phizzy-chan** (Hey, thanks! Zel will have his own chapter, but since he is my leading man in Lemonade, his story will come out in that fic instead. But that doesn't mean that I won't have him pop up in this one, especially when I get into telling a little more about his relationship with Xelloss and Gourry. And thank you for the chocolate! My favorite!!! ^_^)

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	4. What Happens in Atlas City, Stays in Atl...

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. 'Thelma and Louise' is owned by MGM/UA. No harm is intended. Steph and Kim, this one's for you! ^_^

Occurs around chapter 15 and spoilers to chapter 21 of _Life._

**Chapter 4**

**_What Happens in Atlas City, Stays in Atlas City_**

This trip was going to suck.

Lina cringed at the thought of spending the next six hours stuck in a car with her sister, and it was even worse for her knowing that she couldn't get out of it. She had protested leaving so late at night since she would be tired, but Luna offered to drive. She tried to get Jack to give her extra shifts over the weekend, but he had already overbooked the staff and had given the girl a well-deserved break. She even tried to fake being sick.

Luna had smacked her for that.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked her sister when she dug into her backpack. She had bought snacks at the café before Luna picked her up. "I've got sodas, juice, and iced coffee. If you want a snack, I've got sandwiches and pastries, too."

Luna smiled, despite having been upset with her sister earlier. "I'll have an iced coffee and a cookie."

Lina almost frowned at her choice, but realized that she was lucky enough that Luna did not eat as much as she did. They sat in silence while they continued on their way to Atlas City. Driving at night to the city was a tradition since they had to cross the desert to get there. At night, the ride remained cool, and the other people on the road helped to light up the road, so it wasn't creepy at all.

Having fed and watered, Lina got sleepy, especially after having worked a full day, and she began to nod off. She must have actually fallen asleep, because Luna was slapping her leg and waking her up.

"We're here. Wipe the drool off of your face."

Of course, Lina brought her sleeve to her face and wiped at her chin as she sat up straight. After nothing but darkness and a million stars in the sky, it appeared as if they were returning to civilization: the numerous lights in the distance, the steady stream of billboards advertising this casino or that hotel (the All-you-can-eat Buffet for $2.99 caught Lina's eye, and she made a mental note of it), and the increasing amount of traffic were all happy indications that they had arrived.

Bright neon, flashing lights, huge replicas of national monuments and historic sites, and hundreds of people walking along the streets well past midnight greeted the two as they drove along the main Strip. Packed almost on top of each other were the casino/hotels with fancy names and even fancier shows. There was an enormous water-light show, there was a volcano erupting, there was a roller coaster track circling the hotel, there was… the Eiffel Tower?

Lina shook her head. It had been only a couple of years since she had last been here, but they had knocked down and added so many things that it was almost like the first time she was visiting.

"Where are we staying?" she asked, craning her head out of the window to get a better view of the volcano spewing fire down the waterfall cascading from its thirty-foot height. She didn't see Luna grinning at her infantile behavior.

"We've got a room at 'King Arthur's Castle.' I hope they didn't do anything too weird with the place since I was here the last time," Luna answered, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as they waited for the light to turn. 

She had taken the long way around, just so Lina could see all the new sights. It seemed that Atlas City was always changing, and Lina was the same way. Her little sister had always been a live wire, a loose cannon, and every other cliché term for a kid whose intelligence, energy, and gumption outweighed her practical sense of decorum. If something didn't suit her, she wouldn't stick it out unless there was some benefit to her… usually.

It had surprised Luna that Lina had gotten along so well with Amelia Seyruun after that whole incident at Naga's party. Oh, Luna knew that her sister had partied with the elder Seyruun girl, but to her mortification, she had not known that it had gone as far as it had. Luna had always prided herself on her success with Lina, both discipline-wise and martial arts-wise. She had been content to think that as long as her little sister listened to her, she would be safe from the creeps of the world, and that she could grow up never needing to know what it was like to feel real pain.

She had never been more wrong.

Their parents hadn't blamed her. They had blamed themselves, of course, and for that alone, Luna had felt her failure keenly. To her, there was no one to blame but herself. She convinced her mother and father to keep Lina out of juvenile hall, and had taken on the task of keeping a closer eye on her sister than she had before. Being under Luna's thumb was worse than juvenile hall, but if there was one thing about Lina, it was her stubbornness.

Lina rebelled against her more than she had ever thought possible. The girl strove to be the best in kempo, just so she could beat her big sister. Luna couldn't believe her tenacity and her absolute _gall_!

So she brought her to Anderson to see Amelia, to see what could happen to someone who had fallen into the trap and had no one there to pull her out. Lina had sulked and pouted the whole ride there, and had even caused a near riot with her antics, but the trip had somehow worked. Lina calmed down a bit after that. Her focus was no longer on herself, but on a poor girl who had been abandoned to her fate in a state institution that hardly cared about her. It wasn't a cause. It wasn't even selfish.

Lina had found true friendship.

"Wow, it looks different," Lina commented as they approached the huge 'castle' where they would be staying. Brightly colored flags decorated the tops of the towers and ornate banners hung from the turrets. An enormous drawbridge over a huge 'moat' beckoned visitors in from the street.

"It's the dragon," Luna decided, and Lina grinned at the new sight. A fifty-foot-high green and black dragon was curled around the drawbridge, his gaping maw aimed skyward in a territorial roar. To Lina's immense delight, a sudden jet of fire shot into the air as a booming snarl issued forth from the numerous speakers set around the front of the hotel. His golden eyes glittered as the light show began.

Luna turned into the parking lot, and the show was soon out of sight. "Couldn't you have driven slower, Luna? Geez, I didn't even get to see!" Lina whined, but the elder Inverse sister ignored her. Lina crossed her arms in front of her chest in frustration, but now that they were off of the Strip and in the relative calm and darkness of the parking lot, weariness descended upon her. It had been a long day.

"Come on. The sooner we check in, the sooner we can sleep."

Lina, laden with all the luggage like some kind of pack animal, followed her sister into the lobby. Twenty minutes later, she was blissfully unaware of her sister putting away their clothes and bustling around the room as she lay comfortably asleep in her own cool bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Give me your wallet."

Lina sighed.

Then she pulled her clutch out of her purse and handed it over to her sister, a look of smug confidence flitting across her face. She only had two dollars in the thing anyway. When Luna had told her where they were headed, Lina had made a point to remove the cash from her wallet as well as transfer all her money out of her checking account and into her savings. No one knew about _that_ account, so all of her hard earned money would be safe from Luna's spending fingers.

Or so she thought.

After searching for a minute, Luna tossed the red leather clutch back to her and walked off. "Are you coming?"

Suppressing a growl, Lina followed her sister through the blackjack and poker tables, the roulette and craps tables, the rows upon rows of video poker, keno, and slot machines, and out into the Atlas City streets. Although she enjoyed all the slick plays and the flashing lights and especially the clinking of the coins dropping into the slot machine trays, gambling wasn't one of Lina's favorite pastimes. She hated giving away her money, but she absolutely _loathed_ someone or something taking it away. So what if she was a miser?

Luna seemed determined to get somewhere, so Lina was content to follow her, every now and then pointing out a new restaurant or a new casino, her eyes taking in the fun and enormity of the place. Atlas City was always an entertaining place to visit, but she wouldn't want to live here. How could Zel even think of living here, in the middle of a desert when he was much happier living by the beach?

Without thinking about where they were going, she continued to follow Luna. It was only when they had stopped in a line that the young redhead realized where they were.

"Why are we here?" she wondered, casting a suspicious glance at her sister.

"Why do you think? We're here to get money."

"But I don't have any in the bank…"

"Don't lie to me, Lina," she warned.

"I'm not…"

A tiny slip of paper appeared before Lina's eyes and she inwardly moaned. How could she have been so stupid to have left the transaction receipt in her freakin' wallet???

"…sure what my account number is to my savings…" she lied smoothly.

"Oh, that's no problem, miss," the teller in front of them interjected. He waved them over, and Lina had to keep herself calm. She couldn't tell this guy that he had just ruined her only escape from her big sis's wrath? Or even worse, from her greedy hands? "We just need to see your driver's license, and if you have another account number that we can cross-reference, then that will make things much easier."

Lina grumbled something incoherent as she showed him her license and wrote down her checking account number, all the while under the watchful eye of Luna. "How much do you want?" she asked her.

"Four."

"Hundred?"

"Do you need to ask?"

With another mutter of disgust, Lina wrote down the withdrawal amount in the little box and handed it over to the teller, a cute enough guy, but he seemed a little too… intellectual for her. No real charisma, no real charm. Not at all like Gou… ahem! Lina blushed prettily at the direction her thoughts were headed. Damn. The last thing she needed was Luna noticing her embarrassment, beating an explanation out of her, and then giving her love-life advice. 

The teller counted back her money, and before Lina could pick it up, Luna scooped up the cash and handed her a measly one hundred dollars. Pocketing the rest, she made an imperious gesture with her hand, beckoning Lina to follow.

With a defeated sigh, she had no other choice but to follow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Watching Luna sit at the blackjack table, and then at the slot machines, and then _back _to the tables wore Lina out. Growing up in the Inverse household, she had learned how to play all these stupid table games, especially blackjack. Not that it ever did her any good. The few times that she had gambled before, the game moved so quickly that she had lost over two hundred dollars in less than two hours. Never again. 

Becoming bored quickly, Lina wandered around the gaming area to watch the high rollers gambling away their money at hundreds of dollars a hand. Maybe if she had loads of money (or a sister that _she_ could use as a bank) she wouldn't mind gambling as much as she did. Her life as a full-time college student and part-time barista did not allow her to go home every night and roll around on a cash-covered bed, much less waste hundreds of dollars on a lucky flip of a card. As it was, she had to content herself with mindlessly plunking quarters into slot machines. Or watching.

B-O-R-I-N-G.

Lina stopped abruptly upon seeing a group of college kids walk by with these really neat fruity blended daiquiris in bizarre-looking glasses that were almost as tall as she was. Maybe that would spur Luna to get up off her ass so that they could finally go eat. After tracking down the bar that sold them, Lina spent five minutes trying to decide if she should get one in the first place, and then spent the next five trying to convince the bartender that she was old enough to drink. Lina bought one for Luna, and then decided to get another for herself, just to prove her point.

Her sister accepted the drink with hardly a backward glance and continued to play. Lina waited and sipped at the slushy. She could barely taste the rum, so the drink disappeared quickly, but now, she had alcohol on an empty stomach. Perhaps that was the reason she poked at Luna until she got up from the table, red in the face and murder in her eyes. 

"Well, dammit, if I can't have my money, then I'll be damned if you're going to tell me to wait to eat!" Lina said loudly enough for the players and dealers several tables away to hear. Everyone turned to watch the commotion.

Luna pulled her out of the casino by her ear. "I cannot believe you pulled a stunt like that, Lina! It's amazing they didn't kick us out of the casino. Rude. Obnoxious…"

"Don't forget uncouth, vulgar, impolite, and _hungry_," she said, counting off the words on her fingers. Her cool-looking glass, though empty, was still sitting on the floor next to the blackjack table, abandoned. Maybe she could take her sister's. She only drank half of it anyway. "Hey, can I have that when you're done?"

Suddenly, Luna's angry face filled her vision. "Didn't you learn _anything_? What do I need to do to keep you away from this stuff?"

"I don't want the _drink_! I want the glass! It looks cool, and you made me leave mine in the casino! And besides, I only got it because I know that _you_ like daiquiris and I figured that having one wouldn't hurt. It would have been better if I had something to _eat_ first, but you were taking too damned long!"

Wow. There must have been more alcohol in that thing than she had thought. She wouldn't have even dreamt of speaking to Luna that way had she been more sober than she was. Cringing against the inevitable body slam or submission hold, Lina opened her eye cautiously when she heard Luna laughing.

"I… I should have guessed that you were hungry," she panted out before taking a deep, cleansing breath. "I'm sorry, Lina. Come on, let's go eat."

Lina blinked. She placed her hand on Luna's forehead. "Do you have a fever or something?"

She smacked away her hand. "Don't be stupid, Lina. Come on. We'll eat wherever you want."

Lina smiled, thinking about a buffet that she saw advertised across the street for $20.99. Prime Rib, lobster, Alaskan king crab legs…

"You'll buy, of course," Luna said without a trace of the brief humor that had passed between them.

The smile wiped from her face, Lina's thoughts shifted to the $2.99 buffet she had seen advertised instead. She had been trying to decide if it would be worth the money when she was suddenly shoved hard from behind into the street. Only barely able to keep her balance, she hopped out of the way of a speeding truck. Finally safe back up on the sidewalk, her eyes searched the crowd for the guy who had pushed her.

"Hey, buddy!" she yelled when she spotted him. She shook her fist at him as she and her sister pushed their way through the crowds. "Watch where you're go… ing… Hey, my purse!!!"

Before Luna could stop her, Lina was off on the chase, weaving between and spinning around people. Her mind was suddenly clear, and her only thought was of nabbing the purse-snatcher and giving him what for!

Lina was a fairly fit person, despite her gorging habits and her desire not to exert herself more than necessary, so she had quickly gained on the platinum blonde head that was running away from her. She was almost within an arm's length when he did something that she would forever remember as one of the stupidest things she had ever seen in her entire life.

He hopped the concrete barrier that separated the sidewalk and the intersection, and continued to run across the busy ten-lane street! Lina could only stare, wide-eyed as the stupid guy dodged cars as they turned in front of him, narrowly missing and honking as they flew by. Miraculously, he made it to the other corner unscathed, and Lina didn't know whether to be impressed or horrified by his actions.

He turned back and gave her the finger, and for a moment, she wished that she could fly and do magic or something. Yeah. Incinerate him with a fireball... A second later, his face was wiping the sidewalk when Luna somehow appeared behind him and cracked him across the back of his head with her daiquiri glass. Lina dashed to the stairs to cross the bridge over the street. Her sister must have taken it to get to the other corner intact.

When Lina arrived, Luna had the guy pinned to the ground and was already reading him the riot act. A small crowd had gathered around the spectacle, but was giving the woman kneeling on the man's back a wide berth. Lina kicked him in the arm when she picked up her red leather purse (it had been a birthday gift from Amelia!) and Luna flicked his daiquiri-soaked ear.

"That should teach you to go stealing other people's things!" 

Kick.

"I ought to let Lina take her anger out on you, you know."

Smack.

"I was going to buy my big sister lunch, and you took my money!"

Kick.

"Especially when she was willing to buy me something."

Smack.

"Yeah! If I miss lunch because of you…"

The crowd suddenly parted as a young police officer stepped forward. "Alright! Alright! Break it up! What's going on here?"

"This guy stole my purse!" Lina stated, pointing accusingly at the guy with his cheek pressed up against the rough sidewalk.

The officer took a close look at the guy. "Porter? Is that you?"

The Inverse women gawked at the cop.

"Officer Dan, I didn't do it!"

"Like I'd believe that. Dammit, Porter! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing stuff like this? Ma'am, would you let him up, please? He's harmless."

Lina sighed. No justice. This was merely one of the local thieves that the authorities were well familiar with and had deemed 'troublesome' rather than 'dangerous.' Even if they did press charges and the guy went to jail, he'd be out in a week, doing the same thing. Such is life, she supposed.

Luna's voice silenced Lina's resignation. "You're calling him 'harmless?' Do you have any idea of what he just did? He just ran _across the intersection!_ He could have caused a major accident in running away from us after he _stole_ my sister's purse!" Her knee dug into his back. "What ever happened to the cops here? You're supposed to watch out for us! _We're_ the victims here!"

"Ma'am, I understand all that…"

Luna finally stood, keeping a well-placed foot on Porter's neck, and towered over Officer Dan. She truly was an imposing figure, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, and her eyes constantly shrouded by her bangs. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and Lina cringed and grinned at the same time. That smile meant that Luna was about to get _mean_, but she smiled at the thought that she wasn't going to be on the receiving end of it. All she had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

"I don't think you quite understand, _Officer,_" she spat. "This vermin _stole_ our money. He _endangered_ people's lives." She finally smiled. Placing an accusing finger on his chest as she ground her foot into Porter's neck, she continued. "He could have _hurt_ my sister when he pushed her into the street. **_No one_** hurts my sister, understand?"

To his credit, Officer Dan appeared flustered and upset at the guy's actions, but he wasn't about to be pushed around by a civilian, no matter how pretty or daunting she was. He also apparently didn't take too kindly to being poked in the chest, so he called his partner while Luna continued to verbally rip into him. Unfortunately, that was the mistake.

Lina felt a hand close around her left shoulder and her right arm from behind, and before she could process the thought, she had delivered several key strikes to the person's face, gut, and groin before flipping him to the ground beside Porter. Dan had chosen that moment as well to pull Luna's hand away from his chest, and he, too, found himself on the ground next to Porter.

"Aw, shit," Lina grumbled when she saw that she had just taken out his partner.

Luna caught Lina's eye, and something very strange happened. "Run," she muttered.

"What?"

Luna snatched Lina's arm and took off running, dragging Lina along behind her, all the while smirking as if it were some huge game. Lina couldn't help but be impressed at her straight-laced sister's spontaneity, and she laughed out loud as she followed Luna in their mad dash from the police. They zigzagged through the hundreds of people crowding the sidewalk, surprisingly careful that they didn't hit anyone. They dashed by the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the huge water-light show, turning the corner and crossing the street with everyone else when the light changed.

Officer Dan and his partner, out of breath and in particularly foul moods, finally caught up to them when they tried to duck into the casino with the volcano out in front. Their short-lived escape attempt vanished like a mirage when they were placed in handcuffs, but the Inverse sisters never stopped grinning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Why me? Can't I at least have something to eat???" Lina whined, trying with all her might to stick her head through the bars of the jail cell. Hell, she was skinny enough. Maybe she could escape…

In the end, Officer Dan had called in for backup, and two squad cars arrived to transport them to the station. Though they had tried to explain themselves, the police weren't listening to either woman, and they ended up getting locked up until everything was sorted out. To Lina's satisfaction, though, Porter also arrived in handcuffs and was glaring at her from the other cell.

Lina sat down on the hard cot in her cell and pulled her knees up to her chin. She risked a glance at her sister, who was sitting with her back against the wall and was staring at the bars in front of her. Lina hardly dared to believe that it was really her. That was the thing with Luna. She never did anything _fun_. It was always work, train, and study with her. No cutting loose. No being daring. No… excitement. Perhaps that was the reason Lina had enjoyed hanging out with Naga so much. 

Naga was spontaneous, audacious, and conceited. She was fun and non-judgmental. Sure, she liked teasing her about her figure, but Lina knew that it was purely to get a rise out of her. Lina felt as if she could do anything at all and Naga wouldn't care. Luna seemed to care _too_ much, to the point that it was smothering. It seemed that her sister didn't want her to grow up and _live._

But today had proven her completely wrong.

"Stop staring at me, Lina," she muttered, turning her head and regarding her through her bangs.

Obediently looking away, Lina laughed, "There's the Luna I know. For a second, I thought we might have ended up in Area 51 or something."

"Well, if you didn't have such short legs, we probably could have outrun them, you know," she shot back with a smile.

She shrugged. "Smaller, faster, easier to slip away unnoticed. You're gargantuan. They probably spotted you from all the way across the street anyway."

Luna shot her arm out, but Lina blocked it aside, and the girls began to spar in the small holding cell. Upon seeing what the two women could really do when joking around, Porter quickly realized that he got off lucky. A door suddenly slammed open, ending the impromptu sparring session, and the three heads turned to see who it was.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Thelma and Louise. What's wrong? You couldn't get to your car so you could drive off a cliff? O ho ho ho ho ho!"

Lina groaned. Of all people, why was Naga here? And why was she dressed as some kind of showgirl in a revealing black bikini with a cape???

"It's a good thing for you two that I heard about your little escapade. I hurried down as soon as I could so I could see the infamous 'Inverse Sisters' behind bars."

"Are you here to bail us out or what?" Lina grumbled, wanting to throttle the tall woman for gloating.

"How small-minded of you, Lina. I made sure there's no bail on either of you," she told them with a wink. "You're both free to go. He is, too, if you aren't going to press charges."

Lina glared at Porter, and he cringed. 

"Boo!" The guy jumped and began screaming for help, and Lina decided to let him off the hook. "Don't steal stuff anymore!" she commanded, and he nodded contritely.

Officer Dan entered the room just then, appearing slightly flustered, and unlocked their cell door. He mumbled something about a misunderstanding and self-defense. "Did you want to press charges?" he asked.

"Naw, as long as he keeps his nose clean… Umm… No hard feelings for flipping you or your partner?" Frowning, he nodded and let them go. He returned their personal belongings and ushered them all to the exit. Almost as quickly as it had occurred, the whole thing was over.

"What was that all about?" Luna wondered aloud as they walked out to the parking lot. "And what's with the outfit, Naga?"

"Oh, I was in the middle of a shoot when I found out where you were. Of course, I came down right away and 'convinced' them to let you go," she smirked. They groaned and shook their heads. They didn't want to know just how she 'convinced' them at all… 

Naga led them to a waiting limousine where the ever-present Bradley held the door for them. The women filed in past him, and he signaled the driver when they were all situated comfortably. A tall and slender man with long sandy blonde hair that was tied in a fashionable ponytail, Bradley was Naga's personal assistant who scheduled everything from her shows and meetings to her catered dinners and dog walks. From the angry stare he was giving Lina from behind his sunglasses, it was clear that this was an unexpected hiccup in his careful plans.

"It was my fault, Bradley," Luna told him directly. He turned to regard her. "And take off those stupid glasses so I can see your eyes."

Surprising to Lina, but not to Naga, the man complied with her wishes, showing his gorgeous sky blue irises. He shot back with a smooth deep voice that sent tremors down her arms, "Then you cut those damn bangs so I can see yours, Luna… or should I call you Louise?"

They sat across from each other in the back of the limousine, content to just stare. The sexual tension between the two was so thick that it began to weird out Lina, who had never seen her big sister interested in anyone before, much less a hunk like Bradley. Why he chose to be Naga's assistant, it was beyond her, but the two worked well together.

"Hey, then does that mean I'm Thelma?" Lina wondered aloud and then smiled. "I guess that means that I get Brad Pitt, huh?"

Leather-covered cushions flew at her head as the four laughed off the tension, and loud cheers made the poor driver roll up the privacy glass when Naga offered to take them to eat at the popular $20.99 buffet. 

On Bradley, of course; after all, he was outnumbered three to one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They left late that night, Lina driving the first leg of the journey so that Luna could finally get some rest. That was fine with her. So many things had happened that she was thankful for the chance to sort them all out. In all her years, she had never really thought about her sister's life outside of what she knew. In less than twenty-four hours, she had discovered more about Luna than she had ever thought possible. Apparently, when Luna was in middle school and high school, she was worse than Naga and Lina put together. Brazen. Rude. Obnoxious. Uncouth. Vulgar. Impolite…

She grinned. And she had also found out that Luna and Bradley had a 'thing' back in the day. They had flirted outrageously with each other at dinner (almost making Lina puke) and to her chagrin, the two had suspiciously disappeared, only to turn up an hour later appearing _very_ relaxed (almost making Lina puke, again). Naga looked at Lina knowingly while they sat at the bar catching up, and Lina ordered a plate of loaded potato skins, calamari, and hot wings to occupy her mind and her mouth. She'd probably get into trouble with Naga _and_ Luna for telling Bradley to keep his hands off her sister. But then again…

She glanced at her sister. Luna appeared so… happy??? Was _he_ the reason she drove out to Atlas City ever couple of months? Lina had thought that she was addicted to gambling, but this was news indeed. Wait until Mom and Dad found out…

As if she knew what Lina was thinking, Luna opened an eye. "Don't even think about it, Lina. What happens in Atlas City, stays in Atlas City," she threatened groggily before nodding off once again.

Lina could only smile. This trip didn't suck after all.

*************************

A/N: How's that for a bit of sisterly bonding? Yes, Atlas City is patterned after Las Vegas, as are the casinos on the Strip. I've taken artistic license with 'Excalibur' (the real one doesn't have a dragon, but I think it should!). And when the girls were on the run, they were running back and forth up the Strip, passing by 'New York, New York', 'Paris', 'Bellagio', and were finally caught at the 'Mirage,' quite a fair bit of running, I might add. ^_^

My relationship with my own sister isn't quite like this at all, but I believe it's indicative of how we see our siblings. Sometimes, we just wish we could protect them, other times, we just want to torture them, but when it comes down to it, _most_ siblings will stick together in a pinch. And there's always sooooo much about the other that we don't know about… ~_^

Special thanks to those who've reviewed: **Ichiban Victory** (Ah, Xelloss is a great opportunist. He's not the type to say 'no' to something right away, no matter how much he thinks he might dislike it. After all, there may be something to gain from it after all.), **Kaeru Shisho** (Glad that you like my Xelloss. He's not highlighted as much anymore, so it's always fun to flesh him out. I think he might make a reappearance sooner than I thought… ~_^), **Lina Gabriev** (Val's story with Lina will come up eventually, but it's not time for that just yet. And as for Xelloss, he's going to pop up again real soon!), **Aisha C** (For when you catch up, I'm glad that you're enjoying this! This way, we get to see what the other guys are up to! ~_^), **jesphoenix05** (Glad you liked Frank and Kay. Mimi and Nene were from Next. Carrie and Hallas were there from the first season. Sarina and Zahaad are from Slayers Return. If you give me back my dvd's I'll let you borrow the oav's… ~_^)

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	5. Just When You Thought It Was Safe

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money.

Occurs around chapters 15 to 22 of _Life._

**Chapter 5**

**_Just When You Thought It Was Safe…_**

He wasn't answering his phone.

Zelgadiss never went out. He almost always spent his Friday nights at home on the computer or reading a book. B-o-r-i-n-g. So, where the hell was he? It was almost midnight, and his friend still had not returned his call. Xelloss picked up the phone again.

"…_You have reached the Greywords residence. Please leave your name and number and the time you called at the tone…_"

"It's Xelloss. Call me when you get in. We need to talk."

He frowned as he replaced the phone in the cradle. There was something strange going on, but he just couldn't decide what it was. Zelgadiss was up to something, asking him to find out _that_ kind of information on _that_ person, but who was he to wonder about the inner workings of his friend? He had known Zel for years, but he had never really talked about it in all the time they'd known each other. Not that Zelgadiss Greywords was a very open person. Quite the opposite, in fact. Never one to divulge information without a good reason, he was a very private individual who tended to keep his battles his own.

So, a few years ago, it had come as a shock to Xelloss when Zelgadiss had called out of the blue one day to have him help him out with his litigation against Atlas City in his accident. Judge Seyruun had overseen the case, and everyone was happy with the settlement. Zel left the Atlas City force and returned home to Saillune. Almost three years later, Zelgadiss requested Xelloss' help once again out of the blue. _This_ case was one he decided to take on principle, and Xelloss almost never took anything on principle. Now, he was second-guessing his decision to take his friend's case after all.

Xelloss lay back in his king-sized bed and relished the coolness of his black sateen sheets. Closing his eyes as he thought about what kind of mess he was getting into, Xelloss soon drifted off to sleep…

…only to awaken to a loud ringing in his ear. By the time he was coherent enough to realize what he was saying, he had already annoyed Zelgadiss.

"…_I hate you._"

"You know you don't. I wanted you to call Amelia so I could treat her to a nice dinner and a movie tomorrow. I was thinking about somewhere on the pier and then…"

Zelgadiss cut him off. "_I don't think that's a good idea._"

Xelloss frowned. "Oh, really?"

"_Yeah, umm… her friend, the housekeeper's son, was in a really bad accident tonight. I don't think she'll be up to going out this weekend._" Anger suddenly flared up in Xelloss' chest. Who was _he_ to determine what _Amelia_ was going to think or do? After the momentary pause, Zelgadiss asked, "_Hello?_"

"I appreciate your concern, Zelgadiss, but don't you think that Amelia should make up her own mind? I don't know if she would appreciate it if she knew that you were making her decisions for her."

"_That's… that's not what I…_"

"Besides," he bit out, fighting off the familiar sense of déjà vu, "how did you happen to know this little bit of information?"

"_I gave her a ride home since her car was leaking. I bought her dinner, and then she got the call that her friend was in the hospital. Is that alright with you? Look, she had a really bad day, and it ended with her friend getting into a bad accident…_"

Excuses. Always excuses. Xelloss was the king of excuses, but he did _not_ like being on the receiving end of them. "Do you have a problem with our arrangement?" he interrupted. "If you want out, let me know. I don't _have_ to work on your case. No? Good. Just let her know, Zelgadiss. Tomorrow evening at 6:00. El Torito at the pier. Movie afterwards. Goodnight."

Slamming the phone back down in the cradle, he tried to let the sudden tension seep from his shoulders, but instead found that he was becoming more and more agitated. Why the hell did people always insist on screwing him over when it came to seeing the young women he was interested in? He wasn't an evil guy…

Well, he wasn't purely evil…

Well…

Okay, so he had his moments, but everyone's entitled to be a jerk every now and again! So what if he didn't blink twice when he helped to put that non-profit shelter out of business to make way for a new gentlemen's club, or when he assisted in negotiating the terms of a corporate venture that resulted in bankrupting several dozen small businesses, or even when he found a loophole that allowed a convicted drug dealer to go free. Who cared, as long as it didn't affect him?

So little Miss Amelia _would_ be attending dinner with him, regardless of what that goody-good Zelgadiss thought. Xelloss lay back in bed, trying to figure out the best way to make Zel squirm by using the precious girl…

* * *

Filia sat bolt upright in her bed, a terrible feeling of unease sweeping though her chest. What could have possibly startled her out of such a sound sleep? Her mind quickly swept though her dream and dismissed it. No nightmares. Her ears tried to pick up the tiniest sounds outside of the house settling and soon dismissed those as well. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

She shuddered, and hugged her arms to herself, hoping to replace the warmth that she had lost when the blood drained from her hands and feet. Lying back down, she tried to fall asleep again, but after five minutes, her large cerulean eyes remained wide open. Her thoughts drifted, and they settled upon something that she hadn't thought of in months. Today was the anniversary of the day she had finally broke up with Xelloss.

That was the last time she had spoken to the man. They had only been together for a year, but it had been enough time for her to fall hard enough that she hadn't quite been able to pull herself back together in the ensuing two years. She blamed him for that, of course. Oh, she was doing brilliantly in school and at work, had lots of friends, and was ogled at and drooled over, but she still had not yet dated anyone else. Not even to go out for tea.

Val and Lina and Sylphiel had tried to set her up with different people, but when she put her foot down at their meddling, they soon enough learned to keep their noses out of her love life – or lack thereof. Filia had one heck of a temper when riled. So she hung out with her girlfriends or Val, and tried not to imagine herself growing old and dying a spinster. Well, if Lina and Gourry ever got their act together, then she could baby-sit their grandkids when she was too old to work at the hospital.

Filia let out a huge sigh and turned over in her bed to stare out of her window. It was a little past one in the morning, and now she was wide-awake, trying her best not to think about how she was going to end up alone in the world because of some stupid guy whom she was stupid enough to listen to with all of his stupid promises. Stupid girl…

With a growl, she buried her head under her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the thoughts that had come to her unbidden in the middle of the night.

* * *

Filia soon lost herself in her work, especially after what had happened with Jordan. She spent much of her time at the hospital, not only working, but also offering her support and her help with her friends in their time of need. Seeing Amelia with that young man (Zelgadiss she believed was his name) lifted a weight from her heart that she didn't know was there. Perhaps her friend was finally safe from that garbage, that swine…

As she sat at the benches with the two 'we're-only-friends' who had just informed her that they were going on a date (Filia didn't care what they called it - it sounded like a date to her), that uneasy shudder that had woken her up several days ago passed through her once again, only this time, it intensified her already aching head.

"Hello, there," someone behind her said, and Filia froze. _Not him. Anyone but him!_ "And hello to you, too, Miss Filia."

So there he was.

Xelloss. _The bastard._

She should have just left. She should have just walked away without another word. Instead, she skimmed the surface of the roiling emotions within her, and before she could stop to think, she spat, "I wondered why I suddenly got a headache! What do you want, you stinking pile of garbage…?"

He tutted and waved a finger in front of her face as if she were a child, and she wished she had something heavy to hit him with. "Now, that's no way to act towards someone who just paid you a pleasantry, Filia. I see you've been hanging out with _Val_ too much."

"Why, you…" She knew that her own passive martial arts were nothing compared to the deadly knowledge that he held, but she still found herself reaching out to snap the offending finger back sharply. He surprised her by falling for such a simple hold. "What. Do. You. Want. Xelloss?" she ground out. Her hold on his fingers relaxed a tiny fraction, but that small pause was enough to allow the man to retaliate, quickly and effectively.

She found herself sitting back down on the bench with his hand gripping hers tightly. It didn't hurt, really. In fact, Filia felt that he was being surprisingly gentle, given the circumstances. Her cheeks still burned with anger, but a new type of irritation made it worse. Now, she was upset with herself. Damn her heart for skipping a beat when that stupid man touched her hand! Damn her heart even _more_ for fluttering when he let it go!!!

"As I was trying to say before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, how is your friend, Amelia…?" Xelloss continued, but Filia's mind was fighting to regain control of itself. One minute back in her life, and she was blushing like a schoolgirl… It was a good thing her cheeks were already flushed.

She thought it was over. She thought that it would be easy to move on and get over him, especially because of what a jerk he was when they broke up. He was a shark who chewed her up and spit her out, mangled and bleeding. And here he was, back in her life causing problems for her friends, and for herself as well. He wasn't going to screw up someone else's life. He did enough damage to her once.

_Never again. _

Her frozen heart chilled a few more degrees. Steeling herself for the verbal lashing she was about to deliver, she almost missed the last words out of his mouth. "So how convenient that she's spent so much time with you, and now she refused me, and is going out with you to some car show? Was that your whole plan, _Zelgadiss_?" he hissed, glaring at the man. "Take the girl out to keep her away from me?"

Suspicions clicked into place, and the words were out of her mouth before she could take them back. "I _knew_ it! You filthy pile of garbage! You weren't content to just mess up my life. Now you're trying to mess up someone else, are you?"_ Dammit, Filia! He doesn't need to know how much he had affected you!_

Amelia was yelling at him as well, so for a split second, she hoped he hadn't heard what she said, but his eyes darted to her in the barest of glances, and she knew that she had said too much. She had given him the ammunition he needed to destroy her.

Apparently, that glance was the opening Zelgadiss needed to launch an attack. Bodies were suddenly entangled in fierce fighting, and Filia's sense of right overpowered her self-pity. Xelloss was a deadly fighter, and she would _not_ stand by to watch him beat up someone who wouldn't have a very good chance against him. Seeing an opportunity, she seized Xelloss' neck, pinching the artery until he froze, not daring to test the effectiveness of her Chin Na. Amelia was able to drag Zelgadiss to the bench to see if he was unhurt.

Filia looked down at the purple head and knew, yet again, that he had allowed her to get in and stop him. He could have very easily broken her fingers and her forearm, but he didn't. He also could have very easily hurt Zelgadiss worse than he was, but he didn't. At least he was showing some restraint. Amelia said a quick goodbye and dragged her friend away, leaving Filia alone with Xelloss. The last person in the world she wanted to be alone with.

After allowing him up, she smacked him across the back of his head, and then she did something that surprised both of them. She patched him up. Apparently, he went easy on Zelgadiss and ended up getting the raw end of the deal. Not that she cared, but she was a nurse after all. Of course she was going to help a wounded person, no matter what kind of shark he turned out to be.

Leave it to Xelloss Metallium to keep his tactics of wooing an underage girl unchanged in three years. Hadn't he learned _anything_ from their relationship? Hadn't he learned that some girls don't like to sneak around? Hadn't he learned that they weren't property to be owned or locked away? Apparently, his oversized ego was a false one if he was still using the same ruse with Amelia that he had used with her.

"Why do you do it?" she found herself asking. This time, she was truly curious.

His head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

Their eyes met, and it was all she could do to sustain the gaze. "Are you that much of a coward that you can't ask a girl out without fear of what might happen if you do? You know, sometimes I think…"

_No. That was too much information. He already had too much…_

"You sometimes think, what?" His eyes drew her in, and her heart began to thaw. Just a little bit.

"I sometimes think that if you didn't play all those games: getting other people to ask me out for you, always being so selfish and so controlling. Lying… I sometimes think that…"

_Don't do it!_

"…it could have been…"

_Stop!!!_

Swallowing hard, she shook her head slightly to clear it of the emotions her heart refused to let go of, despite its frozen home.

She sighed. "Those aren't stitches, so try not to move very much if you can help it, otherwise, they'll open and you'll have a scar. Don't do anything stupid, Xelloss. I've got to get going."

Filia fled from his presence, and only when she was locked away in her room at home, did she feel a degree of safety from the man who had stolen her heart so long ago and had yet to return it.

* * *

He was a sucker.

He must be a glutton for punishment.

He could still be…

Xelloss sighed. Okay, so he had let Zelgadiss have Amelia, since that was how he saw it. Sure, _she_ was the one who had told him that she didn't want to see him again. Sure, _she_ was going with Zel on a date-that-wasn't-a-date to some stupid car show. But for some reason, he was able to let it go after Zel actually called him. The guy must have it bad if he was so willing to apologize to him just so the two of them could go to the show.

He smirked. Zelgadiss could deny it. He could say that they were only 'friends', but Xelloss could see that the man actually cared for the girl, even moreso than Lina, actually. That was saying something, seeing how Lina knew Zelgadiss longer than he had known Amelia. He and Xelloss had never fought over their redheaded friend.

Amelia, however, proved to be a different story. Xelloss idly wondered if Zel had kissed her as well… It would be interesting to watch how long it would take for his friend to make his move with the prissy princess. She was a nice girl, but her sunny disposition had a tendency to grate on his nerves. How could someone be _that_ cheerful all the time? It wasn't humanly possible, was it?

No. Let Mister Negativity deal with Miss Positive. Xelloss needed someone feistier. Martina was too clingy and flighty for his tastes. Lina… Now there was a spitfire that he would love to play with… if only she weren't so scary. He had no doubt that she would be able to wring him to within an inch of his life, and if she didn't do it, he was sure that oversized jellyfish of hers would do it for her. Sylphiel was too timid, so that left…

The reason he was at the hospital, sitting in the waiting room for a certain blonde nurse to appear at the nurse's station. Hardly twenty-four hours had passed since he had last seen her, and he found that he couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. _"I sometimes think that… it could have been…"_

Not that he wanted another relationship with the girl… woman. She just happened to be someone who used to go out with him, and who also had a certain insight into his personality and his quirks.

He frowned.

And she also just happened to be the only one who had ever _really_ connected with him… even if it was with a rolled-up newspaper. Or a baseball bat. Or a sledgehammer. Okay, so maybe the sledgehammer didn't actually connect, but the flying shrapnel did.

He smiled. Ah, those were the days.

Filia was beautiful, charming, perfectly poised and undeniably irresistible. They had met when he became Phil's intern several years ago, and he found her help in researching her family's case very useful. They worked closely with each other, and he was surprised to find out that she was interested in becoming a lawyer as well. She had a way about her that was very reassuring, very thoughtful, and very intuitive. A perfect façade, he believed. Then she would be able to easily win over a jury or a judge while she worked the angles and the loopholes to her advantage.

And so, when she approached him to ask if she could help him out on the weekends to see what his work was like, he only gladly accepted. After a few months, Filia was becoming too high a priority on his list, and he soon found himself inviting her to other events. Soon, their weekend work meetings slowly melted into secret trips to the desert, or the mountains, and Xelloss stopped trying to keep his professional life away from his personal life. But to their downfall, his job always came first.

No one could know that he was dating a client. That would prove a serious breach of his Firm's ethics, although taking bribes, coercing witnesses, or falsifying information was not beyond its scope. So he kept their relationship hidden from prying eyes, always sending messages through other people or breaking dates to keep someone off his scent. But when he had tried to explain it all to Filia, she didn't seem to understand. And then there was that _guy_…

A nurse's voice broke though his thoughts. "Oh, Filia. There's someone here to see you."

Xelloss looked up from his clasped hands to see the young woman, standing there in her pink and white scrubs, her long silken hair tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of her perfect creamy neck. Her clear blue eyes widened a little in surprise and alarm, but she composed herself and smiled. She appeared all the more like an angel.

"Xelloss. What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice calm and neutral.

"I think some of those band-aid thingees came loose, and I'd like you to take a look at them."

One perfectly arched brow rose in question, and she asked flatly, "One of the other nurses could have taken a look at it for you. You didn't have to wait for me."

_Ah, but I did,_ he thought.

"It was no problem, really. Er… did you want to do it here?"

"What? Oh. No. I think we've got a free room. Follow me."

Filia's mind raced. _What the hell is he doing here? He'd better not be stalking me, or I'll kill him…_

Filia brought Xelloss to an empty exam room and closed the door behind her with a loud click. Keeping her voice controlled, she commanded, "Take off your shirt and sit on the table."

Doing as she asked, he sat on the paper that covered the exam table. Patting the space beside him, he joked, "There's room enough for two."

Her eyes never moved from his, even when her fingers found the edge of one of the loose butterfly bandages and yanked it free with a quick tug.

"Ow!"

"Oh, don't be a baby, Xelloss." Her eyes left his to concentrate on the task at hand, and a smug expression played across her face. Amused with her control over him, she proceeded to remove the bandages, clean the wound (which was healing just fine), reapply the butterfly bandages, and cover it with gauze and tape. With a small smile, she idly patted him on the chest and told him to put his shirt back on.

It was then that she realized what it was that she was doing. She had thought that she would avoid him for the rest of her life. She had thought that she would just disappear from his presence as she once had done. It should have been easy, but here he was, intruding in on her life once again, and she was treating him as an old friend! The empty gauze wrapper was summarily shredded into the wastebasket while she fought to regain her composure.

"So what are you doing? Why are you here bothering me?" She threw away the used bandages and cleaning pad into the medical hazard bin and tried to concentrate on the sterile packs of swabs, or the bottle of alcohol, or the tongue depressors, or anything that was clean and clinical. Devoid of emotion.

"Am I bothering you? I thought I was getting medical treatment."

She rounded on him, her face dangerously close to his. "Cut the crap, Xelloss! I know when you're bullshitting someone, and you can't do it to me. What do you want?" she growled.

His strange yet gorgeous purple eyes opened, and the mirth that had been on his face quickly disappeared. "I didn't realize you hated me so much, Filia."

_Don't do it…_ she thought.

But having concealed her emotions for so long, she didn't listen to herself. "Hate? Do you know what you did to me? Because of you, my uncle and aunt lost their store and their life savings to that stupid mall. Because of you, I couldn't even _think_ about being a lawyer anymore. Because of you…"

"…you're helping people now. You're a nurse who's helping hundreds of people. If you became a lawyer, who knows how many you'd be hurting, directly or not? You were better than that. You're where you belong. Perfect…"

Neither of them realized what they were doing. Filia didn't notice that she had begun to cry, her silent tears expressing the release of her bottled-up emotions. Xelloss wasn't aware that his hand had drifted up to gently hook a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Their emotions were so dangerously close to the surface, begging to be acknowledged, for the better or the worse. She had never stopped loving him, and for that reason alone, she hated him. He had always cared for her, never saying the word 'love,' yet always feeling the strange but familiar tightening in his chest at the mere thought of her in real pain.

But the insufferable lies and their convoluted past hung between them like a thick curtain that neither dared to cross for fear of the hurt and the anger that would certainly accompany the touch. Slowly and deliberately, Filia backed away from Xelloss as he dropped his hand to his lap.

"You're an excellent nurse, Miss Filia," Xelloss stated formally, pulling on his shirt. Just like that, the curtain that had been between them solidified once more into the wall that they kept about their hearts to prevent the loss, the anguish, the resentment, and the pain from smothering them.

"Yes, well… just don't get into any more fights. Next time, you can ask one of the other nurses to aid you."

She wiped at her face, and drew herself up to stand proudly before she opened the door. Xelloss stopped with her at the nurse's station while she scribbled something down on a form. "Thank you for your help, Nurse Filia."

A sheet of paper appeared in front of his face, and she shot him a look. "You can pay now out of pocket, or we can charge this visit to your insurance company, Mister Metallium. The bottom sheet is your copy."

And then she was gone, and he was left staring at the exam sheet she had drawn up with a total of fifty dollars due. Fifty dollars for a few band-aids and some gauze? Feeling taken, he shoveled out three bills from his wallet, gave them to the nurse, and took his receipt with disgust. Looking back down at the sheet of paper, he realized something that he wouldn't have noticed had he not paid.

Beneath the total due was typed in the nurse's name, but more than that, her hours and a phone number were written in.

Xelloss smiled. It wasn't the hospital's number after all.

* * *

He didn't call her right away, but when he finally did early the next day, she didn't yell at him as he thought she would have. It wasn't even the house phone number. She had given him her personal cel phone. They spoke briefly, and he even asked her out to lunch the following weekend. Amazingly enough, she accepted, however there was one condition.

She wanted to hash out all their old problems… so she could finally move on with her life.

He didn't refuse this offer of… well, not friendship, but… closure. She, like him, apparently still held onto some feelings that weren't going to go away without dealing with them, but Xelloss found himself wanting to see how far she would actually try to leave him behind. The more he thought about it, the more he didn't want to let her go.

Damn the woman for getting under his skin.

_Ring. Ring._

"Hello?"

"_How are you feeling?_"

"Well, hello there. It's good to hear from you. I'm doing well enough, considering. And you? I saw what happened on TV."

"_Hn… as well as I can be, I guess. But… we need to talk._"

His eyebrow rose. "_We_ need to talk? About what?"

"_I…_" he could hear a sigh on the other end. "_I need your help with something. Can you meet me at the gym in half an hour?_"

"Are you planning on working out your aggressions? Not on me, I hope."

"_Actually, that's exactly what I had in mind. I need to talk to you about something – well – someone, to be honest._"

"Really? And who might that be?"

"_It's A… Amelia._"

"Really?" he repeated. Though he knew that he should be upset or irritated, he found that he was strangely detached.

"_Look, I swear I wasn't interested in her._"

"But you are now?"

"_I… I'm not sure… You see, after what happened last night, we got to talking, and then this morning, she just…_" He sighed again. "_Geez, I really don't know…_"

Xelloss smirked. So she had actually gotten under his skin, too. "And I was _just_ wondering how long it would take before you fell for her…"

"_That's not it!_"

"Sure, Zelgadiss. I'll be there in thirty. In fact, there's something – well – someone I'd like your advice on as well. We'll talk about it while we fight, shall we?"

Xelloss smiled as he hung up the phone. Recent events were proving interesting indeed if Zelgadiss was actually asking _him_ for advice about women. Not that he was the best person to ask about relationships, but perhaps the information Zel volunteered would prove useful in the future. Now if only he could straighten out his own love life – or lack thereof.

* * *

A/N: So how's that for a little back-story on Xelloss and Filia? It seems that there's still some unfinished business between them. Sometimes people break up for stupid reasons, and sometimes it's justified. We'll find out a little bit more about their relationship later, as well as one of the factors in their break-up. And it seems that Zel's got some issues to work out, as well. Can we say, 'Denial'?

Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me. I've been promoted at work, and that means more hours and more work and more stress… for the same pay??? I think I got hustled… --;; On the bright side: I _haven't_ been getting migraines, so that's saying something. I've got another WML chapter and an L&L chapter in the works, so I'll be updating soon. By the way, the quick-edit feature keeps deleting my little symbols and happy faces. Does anyone know how to keep them in the story? I'm not too keen on the clinical line-across-the-screen... B-o-r-i-n-g.

Special thanks to everyone who's reviewed: **Ichiban Victory** (It's always fun to explore different relationships in writing. The last chapter was actually what gave me the idea to do a side-story fic, so it took a while for me to get up to where it needed it to be. I'm glad you enjoyed it!), **Ishy-chan** (Thanks! Luna is one of those characters who is always hinted at or portrayed as very serious, but even serious people have a lighter side to them. I just thought it would be a riot to have her be the one to get them into trouble. After all, what are big sisters for? ), **Kaeru Shisho** (blushes Thank you so much! When I initially mentioned in passing that Lina was going on a weekend trip with her sister, I figured that it would be a fun story to explore. What better way to do it than to get them into some trouble… and it wasn't really Lina's fault this time! And who's there when she's down? Naga, of course! – I couldn't help it… I hope you enjoyed a look at some Xel/Fil time as well!), **Aisha C** (Yay! You caught up! Thank you for reviewing each chapter individually. I'm liking Val even more as well… How did you like this little bit of an inside look at Xellos' and Filia's _real_ feelings? At least they're starting to act like adults – sort of. We'll see more in a later chapter. Thanks again!), **Lina Gabriev** (Ooh, an all-out brawl? A royal rumble sounds fun! I'll think on that. I know that all siblings aren't the same, but I thought that Luna's stern reputation could be a front for a very feeling person who accepts responsibility for her sister's action. Maybe I'm just too much of a softie… Thanks again!), **jesphoenix5** (Okay, so I haven't watched them yet… I promise that I will! --;; Yeah, I guess when you get siblings together, all sorts of mayhem can occur. Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you like this one too!)

Click the button and review!


	6. Tell Me How to Forget

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money.

Since I had to take out the lyrics to conform with FF's TOS, if you've got _Unforgiven II_ by Metallica and _Black_ by Pearl Jam, I used these two songs as inspiration for this chapter. Please don't sue.

**Warning: **This chapter will be rated '**R**' due to underage drinking, drug use, profanity and attempted rape. Do not read if you are offended with any of these. You have been warned.

Occurs around chapter 22 of _Life._

**Chapter 6**

_**Tell Me How To Forget**_

Val quietly closed the door to Amelia's room. She was sleeping peacefully beside Lina who was tied rather rudely to the bed. Figures. Amelia was always complaining to her that she thrashes around too much when she sleeps. Val smirked at the numerous naughty thoughts running through his head, but then, just as quickly frowned when he remembered the reason he was at Amelia's house in the middle of the night.

Wen was dead.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed in the guest room, Val thought about his old friend. Guilt assailed him beyond what he was used to. Wen was dead. Took his own life. What could he have done differently to make him understand that he wasn't being isolated? He shouldn't have listened when Wen told him to leave him alone. He should have kept bothering him to the point where he'd _have_ to remember that he had friends, even if he didn't want them. Hell, if anyone knew that lesson, it was Val.

He had known dark days without anyone to pull him through, and he had known dark days when there were people who believed in the real Val: the Val beneath all the crap of his life that was piled on top of his heart. They could have easily walked away from the sinister events surrounding him, the blackness that seemed to follow him regardless of his best intentions. They could have left him to destroy himself.

But they didn't walk away. Filia was his guiding light, Amelia was his princess, and Lina was his saving angel. It was a certain thing that if it weren't for those three girls, his life would be completely worthless. That was, if he still had a life.

His thoughts ran once again to the past, and to the night when he realized just how much he had gained when he had almost lost it all.

* * *

"Come on, Amelia. We're going out tonight." Amelia looked up from her computer to see Val poking his head in the door. She seemed surprised to see him, so he explained, "Beth let me in. Come on and get ready. We're going to a party."

It was a Friday night halfway through the school year, and it was obvious that she wasn't working on homework. With little prodding to accompany him, the then fifteen-year-old girl pushed Val out of the room so she could get dressed. He waited for her downstairs, and rolled his eyes when Beth fussed over how well he had cleaned up. Not that he was wearing anything spectacular. White jeans and a short open Chinese-style shirt was certainly unconventional, but compared to some of the other 'high fashions' which those other kids were wearing, he was relatively conservative.

Amelia trotted down the steps and rounded the corner, giving him a quick wave as she passed him by. Wearing white jeans and a white and pink blouse, she looked very cute: the epitome of innocence. He rolled his eyes again. She returned a few moments later with a huge smile on her face.

"Daddy said I could go. It's Michelle's party, right?"

He smirked. "Come on. I've got a surprise for you."

Her interest piqued, she grabbed her little pink purse and her jacket and followed him out the door, calling quick goodbyes to Beth and Jordan on her way out. Val couldn't help but grin at the unabashed curiosity on her face as he tried to shield her view from the surprise.

"Come on, Mister Val! What's going on?" she begged, adding the formal title to his name. She had been doing that a lot, recently, and though he didn't mind it, it was a constant reminder of the fact that she was trying to treat everyone with more respect and courtesy.

The way Val figured, _she_ was the one who deserved respect and courtesy.

"You'll see, Princess. Close your eyes." Obediently following his instructions, she held out her hands to him, and he guided her carefully down the walkway. Amelia had always been true to her word, making sure he remained surrounded by positive influences, even though they attended different schools. Filia had become very doting, to the point of annoying, and even that brat Lina wasn't leaving him alone. Only Amelia remained understanding of his need to be independent, his own man.

Of course, she also had become stricter on him when she _did_ tell him off. She had been doing well, too, and he was proud of the way she was able to pull herself together and become the girl she had always tried to be. In her sophomore year of high school, she was already popular and well liked, and though she hated to deceive people, they had agreed to keep their time in Anderson a secret. Her father had sealed both of their files, giving him a chance to succeed in his own school.

And he certainly had done well. In his three years of private high school, he found that the teachers didn't see him as a screw-up, the other kids thought of him as an interesting person, and Filia proved to be a formidable personal guard. The last, he wasn't sure if he really appreciated, but she made sure people did not bother him as much as they probably should have.

Amelia was still standing in front of him with her eyes closed, and he smiled. "Open your eyes, Amelia."

Her large blue eyes opened, and then widened in surprise. "Wow! A new bike! That's so cool!"

It was a brand new green and black Kawasaki ZZR600, a sleek sportbike that he had saved up his money for two years to buy. It wasn't much, but it was a quick little thing that he could use to zip around town. And more than that, it was all his own, bought and paid for with his own hard-earned money from the gas station he worked at after school and on the weekends.

Grinning at her reaction, he offered, "Wanna try it out?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "But… but I don't know…"

"Come on! I'll show you how…"

It took just a bit more convincing on his part, but she soon agreed to learn how to ride. She had ridden with him enough times to have a pretty good idea of what to do, so when he took his place behind her on the bike, all he had to do was guide her through the motions. A bit shaky at first, she soon got the hang of it, and he allowed her to open it up and go a little faster down the hill. He was very proud of her.

It was then that a thought occurred to him.

She felt right in his arms…

* * *

Michelle's house was a posh place, in many ways like the Seyruun's, but much more modern and clinical. It was situated right on the beach, and the huge picture windows afforded a grand view of the ocean. The party was like many high school parties: lots of kids, lots of music, and lots of booze. He hadn't intended to bring her to a party where she would feel uncomfortable, but she merely smiled and shrugged and poured herself a glass of water. He took a glass of punch and tried to play off the fact that it was spiked. They mingled and hobnobbed, ate and drank, and as the night went on, Val continued to try to keep his mind off of his friend.

They had been close for the past three years, but he had never thought of Amelia as more than just a friend. When he had first seen her on the bus to Anderson, he had thought that she was just a druggie/miscreant like him. She was pale and thin, appearing for the life of her that the world was about to end. Not caring whether or not he got in trouble, he tried to find out just how hard this kitty could scratch. Pretty hard, apparently. Though it was usually directed at someone else, he soon found that she could fight back almost as well as he could.

His second time there in as many years, Val kept to himself at Anderson, content to exist in a reality that only cared if he wasn't causing himself or anyone else any harm. His watched everyone there, assessing peoples' weaknesses and turning about in his head different ways of gaining the upper hand. He had everyone figured out. Except Amelia. He had heard her in group, mumbling about stuff that didn't have anything to do with his life, and he had heard about her time in solitary, but none of it added up in his head.

And so he watched her. As he always had, he would stare at her, but what began as scrutiny slowly became curiosity, which quickly became a challenge when she began to come out of her shell and stare back. And just when he thought that he had her figured out, she surprised him by asking him to _go home with her!_

That had been the best thing to happen to him in a long, long time. And now, he was able to patch up (for the most part) his relationship with Filia and her family, and he was actually doing well in school. He still had yet to find a suitable girlfriend, but… what was stopping him from asking _her_? He shook his head. They had too much history between them that there was really no room for a relationship like that. And besides, he didn't want to mess up the one truly good thing he had in his life.

Val's eyes roamed the sun deck and found Amelia sitting on the low wall outside. She was looking out over the shadowy beach, her eyes seeming to want to pierce the darkness to find the source of the gentle hush of the waves. Gathering up his courage, he decided that he would at least spend the rest of the party with her, enjoying her laugh and her smile, even if he couldn't summon the tenacity to ask her out.

As he approached the door, two guys paused in their run along the beach to talk with her. Rather than brush them off or leave, Amelia actually _hugged_ the blond one. She greeted the dark-haired kid amicably as well, but it was clear that she was very familiar with the other one who still had his arm around her waist.

"Oh, Ken, you're too funny!" He could hear her giggle through the slightly open door. She looked so happy…

Jealousy and anger rushed through his head and straight into his heart. Those all-too-familiar feelings that had been absent from his life for so long flooded back, and he scowled. It was always the same thing: just when he finally figured out what he wanted or cared about, it was always taken away from him! Damn! It was so fuckin' unfair!

He stalked back into the house, poured himself another glass of punch and emptied the rest of the vodka bottle into it. What the hell was the point of it all? He downed the drink, and then another, and then went in search of anyone else who was having a good time. Stumbling into a room, he noticed a sickly sweet smoke emanating from it, and he immediately joined in with the 'fun'.

Only much later was he able to piece together the sad events that occurred afterwards. Apparently, someone along the way decided to have more fun by adding something much stronger to the bong that they were sharing. Although he had dabbled in his share of drugs, Val still didn't know what hit him.

Amelia found him later, tripping hard, huddled in a corner. The world was awash with lights and sounds, but in his mind, they were harsh and grating. His own laughter sounded too loud for his ears; her white shirt was too, too bright. She had begged him to let her help him, but instead, he bullied her into bringing him out to the beach, away from prying eyes. Somewhere it was quiet. Somewhere he could think.

He had wanted to get her alone, too, so that he could explain how he felt, or how he thought he felt. He wanted to show her that she meant a great deal to him, and that nobody would understand her the way that he did. That damned blond bastard Ken didn't know anything about her. Ken didn't know the dark nightmares that she used to have. Ken didn't know about Anderson, but _Val_ did.

"I _know_ you, Amelia," he whispered into her hair, but it was a leering sound that was foreign to his ears. "I know you better than _him_."

Her arms were around his waist, half comforting and half holding him up. She pulled away so she could regard him, and he saw her face filled with concern. Her lips were trembling, and her too-blue eyes were shimmering. Damn, she was beautiful.

"Val…"

Resting his forehead against hers, he cut her off. "We're alike. Two-of-a-kind. You know me better than anyone else…" His mouth suddenly closed on hers, and he only barely registered her astonished gasp before he encompassed her.

His next memory was of Amelia's tear-streaked face below his, as he pinned her to the cold sand. Frightened by the fear in her eyes, Val pulled back and realized that he had been kissing her. No. Kissing would have been a kind way to describe the twisted bit of smothering he had been doing. And his hands were all over her… _Oh, fuck... What am I doing? What have I done!_

Horrified and repulsed by the thought that he had been about to force himself on Amelia, he rolled off of her and began to stagger back to the house. The world was tilting wildly, and his eyes didn't seem to want to focus.

"Val, please stop!" she begged, suddenly wrapping herself around his waist. How could she bear to _touch_ him when he had just…? "Please, just stay here until they get here!"

His anger at himself was suddenly redirected, and Amelia became the new target. He rounded on her faster than either of them had thought, grabbing her hair and wrenching her forcefully away from him. She hit the sand hard and was eerily still.

"Amelia!" he choked out.

"_Amelia!_" someone screamed.

He turned around, and saw a couple of blurry figures running across the sand towards them. Blond hair… Cracking his knuckles and ready for a fight, he lashed out and connected, sending the blonde figure to the sand. A sudden weight was on his back, and he turned and slammed the dark-haired figure to the ground. The blonde was up, and he was about to punch again when he realized that it was actually Filia…

Val ran to her, but someone was suddenly in front of him, barring his way. Red hair flashed in his vision for a second before he tried to backhand it to the sand as well. She caught his arm, and swung it up and out of the way, but he kicked out and followed up with a punch, and she went down. Dammit, he had to make sure Filia was okay. Something hit his back hard, and he stumbled to the sand, but he kneed it away. Suddenly, he was slammed in the face with a purse.

He was beginning to get beaten up pretty badly, and all he could see was red and gold and black. As he stumbled, ready to go down, he reached out for the nearest attacker, put her in a headlock and was quite ready to snap her neck for bothering him.

"Val, let her go…"

A moment of clarity visited him once again, and he looked down and realized that he held Filia in the chokehold, Amelia was battered and bleeding on the ground next to him, and Lina was standing between him and dozens of bright lights. Beyond her, he could make out several police officers with their guns trained on him.

_What… what have I done?_

"Val," Lina repeated, "let her go. I won't let them hurt you, but you're not yourself. I can't let you hurt anyone else."

"_You_ don't know who I am!"

"Maybe not, but _she_ does." Lina pointed to Amelia's prone form. The crystal clear memory of trying to force himself on his friend crashed into his mind, and his arms went numb, releasing Filia. Someone rushed over and pulled the girl clear of him before several police officers pounced.

"Stop! Please, don't hurt him!" Lina was yelling, trying to plead with the police. They weren't taking another chance of him taking a hostage, but that was the very farthest thing from his mind as they took him down and handcuffed him. He didn't even care that he had a mouthful of sand or that a knee was digging painfully into his back. All he cared about was...

_Is Amelia okay? Oh, shit, if I… if I hurt her… What have I done?_

"Amelia!" he yelled as the police dragged him away. She was still lying on the cold sand being attended to by Lina, but at his call, she opened an eye, and all he could see was an accusing glare.

* * *

Val lay strapped to the hospital bed, staring out of the window and wishing he could die for all the damage he had done. He didn't remember much, but the flashes of images he had retained from that night made his waking moments a living hell. All he could really remember was that look on Amelia's face and the horrible things he could have done…

He heard the door open and someone sit down, but still his gaze was fixed on the tree branch just outside his barred hospital room window. It seemed that the hospital was taking as many precautions as they could. He wondered when the police would show up to haul him away for assault.

"Nice place you've got here," the person said, and Val closed his eyes. Why, of all people, was _she_ the one to visit him?

"Go away."

"Big baddie, can't beat me up when you're strapped down like that, can you?"

"_Go away, Lina!_" he screamed, turning and trying to leap out of the bed at her. The straps held him in place, and he strained against the leather cuffs.

"You're still feeling it, aren't you?" she asked, not flinching one bit. Her level gaze pierced his anger, and his erratic emotions began to deflate. He settled back on the bed. "Alcohol, pot, crack, and heroin. Interesting combination, Val. You really know how to party, don't you? Of course, you weren't the only one. Five other kids ended up in the hospital, too, because of it."

His eyes widened. Shit. Leave it to some idiot to add something like that to the pipe and screw everyone over. She continued, "One of them is worse off than you, so count yourself lucky that Amelia found you when she did."

Amelia…

"Is she okay? Is she here?" Lina shot him such a look that he knew that if he weren't Amelia's friend, she would probably kill him on the spot if she could. Did that mean…?

She sighed. "She's okay, but I don't think she'll be coming to visit you any time soon."

Val felt the world begin to close in on him. He croaked, "Why?"

Now it was Lina's turn to go off. "_Why?_ Look around you! You're strapped to a bed in a secured area of the hospital, hooked up to IV's because you've been passed out for two days, all because you were stupid enough to drink it up and do drugs in _front of her!_ What the hell did you think would happen when her father found out that you beat her up while you were tripping?" She loomed over him, every fiber of her being wanting to throttle him.

"Her dad is keeping her away?"

"Of course, you idiot. I wouldn't be here either, if it weren't for her insisting that I come down here to keep you company. Your family's pissed off at you, too, but they're in another wing of the hospital watching over Filia."

"I didn't…"

"You were an idiot and kicked her ass, too. She's got a couple of cracked ribs, and bruised kidneys." She made a disgusted sound and crossed her arms. "And after all that both families went through to make sure you stayed clean and on the straight and narrow."

"I didn't…" he repeated, not knowing what to say.

"You're damned right, you didn't. You didn't _think_, Val," she said, poking him hard in the forehead, "and that's just plain stupid. I don't know why Amelia's got it in her head that she's responsible for your behavior…" she muttered as she walked to the door. "I don't even know why I'm doing this at all."

Val just stared at the door after she left. So Amelia knew. She knew why… The door opened again, but this time, the girl he hoped to see the most, yet also wished to never face again, followed Lina inside.

"Your dad will kill me if he knew I brought you here, Amelia," Lina whispered, but Val still heard it. Lina snuck her in?

"I won't stay long, Miss Lina."

Amelia stood there, with an unreadable expression on her bruised face, and that was when he realized that Lina had ugly welts across her arms and face as well. He inwardly winced at what he had done to Filia if she was in the hospital. Shit, he had never meant to hurt anyone, and never any of these girls…

Val turned away from them in shame, and only when he heard the door open and shut again did he relax. He couldn't look her in the eye after what he did to her. Luckily, he had stopped in time, but what if he hadn't? He could have raped the girl who meant more to him than…

He felt like vomiting.

"What changed?" a tiny voice asked behind him, and he jumped in surprise. She was still there. "We were doing so well, I thought. Was it something I did?"

"No," he whispered. How could she be blaming herself for something that _he_ had done to _her_? "I wanted… I wanted to be there for you…" _She can't know. You can't guilt her into a relationship with you._

"But you _were_ there for me. You always have been."

_But she needs to know about **you**. _"If I was, then you wouldn't need _him_."

"Him? Ken…?"

Val's brows creased in anger once again, but this time it was at himself for allowing his stupid jealousy get him into so much trouble. Now it had cost him his only three friends in the world. His renewed life was slipping away, like a half-remembered dream. _This_ was his reality: getting in trouble for drugs and violence. Living happily with a new family and surrounded by loved ones was merely a pipe dream.

"Oh, Val," Amelia whispered, her voice cracking, and sounding as if her heart were breaking. Although he hadn't wished to look at her, he couldn't help it. She sounded so lost. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, and her hands were covering her mouth.

She placed a hand on his scarred cheek. "I'll always need _you_. We share so much that nothing will ever come between that."

Though he wished it were true with all his heart, he knew it would never be. He wasn't worthy of her love. She would find someone special one day, and _they_ would share _everything_. She would be happy without him, especially after everything he had put her through.

And though it pained him to think it, that day would come, but until then, he would continue to be there for her if he could. He would continue to love her from afar, unrequited, as long as she was happy.

"I'm so sorry, Princess," he sobbed, not trying anymore to hold back the tears. "I never meant to hurt you."

The hand on his cheek moved over to cover his lips. "And I never meant to hurt you either," she whispered. He finally allowed his gaze to travel up to her eyes, and in them, he saw his own feelings mirrored. She _knew_ him. His heart felt the tinniest fraction lighter, but his resolve did not waver. A fleeting look of sorrow passed over her face, and he _knew_ that it was the same for her.

Her fingers moved from his mouth, and he lifted his head to meet her as she kissed him gently on his lips. It was not passionate, nor chaste, but it spoke more than either dared to say. For both of them, it was a kiss of friendship and love, of regret and disappointment, of a shared past and a separate future. It held a promise of closeness and a wish for happiness, but it did not hold what he had once dared to hope for.

He was the one to pull away, and when she smiled at him, everything in that kiss settled into his heart like a balm, strangely soothing. Well, if he couldn't be the guy for her, then he would just have to be the one to protect her. That was just the way it would be. _Never me…_

"We'll always be friends, Val, no matter what."

"Always, Amelia."

Lina had come in soon after that, and hurried Amelia away so her dad wouldn't find out that she had visited. Val's self-loathing slowly began to lessen over time. Lina was his only company for the next few days since no one else was allowed to see him. He decided to explain to her what had happened, _including_ the parts that pertained to Amelia. He was tired of always fighting her, and since she was Amelia's best friend, he figured she would understand. The hot-tempered girl surprised him by being more understanding than he could have imagined.

After a week in the hospital and Lina visiting him every day after school (without Amelia's insistence), Val began to feel better about himself. There was something about Lina's 'keep-on-living' attitude that struck a chord with him, and he found himself actually beginning to like the girl more. No wonder Amelia had improved so much after Lina began to visit her at Anderson. Lina Inverse was life personified. He began to share information about his life bit by bit, and the girl never judged him or looked down on him. The more time he spent with Lina, the more he appreciated the extension of friendship she was offering.

When Val finally went home, he went on a self-imposed crusade to clean up his life even more. Filia didn't hold the incident against him, and after a very long talk with his foster parents, they soon found it in their hearts to let it go, though they kept him to a strict curfew. Filia chastising them for their narrow-minded rationale also had something to do with it, but Val felt no desire to cross his family again. He sought to make it up to Filia by doing whatever she needed him to do. They began to spend more and more time together, and in that time, he noticed similarities between her and his older sister, Bell. His sister had always tried to protect him and guide him, so with a smirk, he allowed his new 'big sister' to do the same.

He noticed that she wasn't spending as much time with Xelloss anymore, but when he asked her about it, she merely shrugged and muttered that the man was being an idiot. Val's protective instincts kicked in, and he began keeping track. Whenever she came home and it appeared she had been crying, Val took a tally, trying to figure out if they were isolated instances or if they were an ongoing pattern of behavior. After coming home red-eyed for the forth time in two weekends, Val rushed out to confront Xelloss, and the two had words. Val knew better than to get in a fight, but if he so much as insulted Filia…

Filia and Xelloss broke up the following weekend in a huge display. Val had tailed her to a nearby park, and the once-lovebirds had it out with each other. Val phoned Lina, and when the ex-couple went their separate ways, Lina intercepted Filia while Val caught up to Xelloss in the parking lot. After one punch and a threat of letting Xelloss' Firm know about what their employee had done, Val was on his way to meet up with the girls. Good riddance.

It took months of convincing before Amelia's dad allowed Val back into the house. Beth watched him like a hawk, Jordan eyed him suspiciously, and Phil just glared at him. Val pleaded his case with them all, and with Amelia on the other side of the couch helping him, they soon won over the family jury. She wasn't allowed to attend any more parties, but Val didn't mind since he didn't. And true to her word, Amelia remained close with him, joking and playing as if not a thing had occurred.

For Val, however, it hurt him to know that he wouldn't be the one, but he bore it with the silent hope that he could wait her out. Until then, he tried to think of her as he thought of Filia: a sister-figure. He tried, and failed. She just wasn't _that_ to him. She would always be _his_ princess.

And he would always be _her_ knight.

* * *

Val had grown to accept his role in Amelia's life in the ensuing years, and he had even been able to let her go to live her life with other people. Ken actually proved to be a nice guy, but he and Amelia had grown apart over the summer after her sophomore year. Chad was someone he hadn't found out about until she was just about finished with his stupidity. If only Val's college classes weren't so time-consuming, he'd have known about the jerk.

Val hardly thought of Amelia in romantic terms anymore after two and a half years, the same way he hardly thought about his time in Anderson anymore, but deep in his heart, he knew that both would always be a part of him. Although it seemed like another lifetime ago, Amelia was still here. Now.

And she was again interested in someone else.

Though she had said that she wanted to hook Zelgadiss up with her sister, and though he had said that he wasn't interested in her, Val had seen the look on her face when she kissed Zelgadiss goodbye the night before. He had also seen the look on _his_ face when she hugged Val. They both had it bad, and neither of them realized it.

"Keep your chin up, Amelia," Val said to her as he was leaving the morning following their late-night talk with Lina. He was beginning to see that the times were changing, and with everything that had happened recently, it was hardly a surprise that his relationship with her would change as well. "What's it you usually say? 'Tomorrow's another day' or something like that?"

She laughed. "That's Scarlet O'Hara, silly. But I guess it's kinda like that: 'There's always a tomorrow.' I'll keep on looking forward."

_And I will, too. _

"That's the spirit," he whispered, his hand on her chin lingering for the briefest of moments. Not wanting to dwell in the past, he gave her a quick hug. _Maybe we can both learn to forgive… ourselves,_ he thought as he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. _Maybe then, I can move on._

A/N: Hope that clears some things up for you all about Val's relationship with Amelia, Lina, and Filia. Common pasts (even bad ones) serve to bridge the gaps between people, but that doesn't mean that they'll turn out to be good relationships. I have to admit that I wasn't initially keen on hooking Amelia up with anyone other than Zelgadiss, but after writing more about her past with Val, I began to like him more and more. He really is a tragic figure, and nothing _right_ seems to happen to the poor guy, but I'm trying to find a happy ending for him. But never fear faithful A/Z fans. Remember: "_Canon couples_ with a few non-traditional pairings along the way…" is how I put it in the first chapter after all. This is just all the dirty laundry that has to come out before they can have a healthy relationship and live happily ever after... well, we'll see how that goes. –winks-

Special thanks to everyone who's reviewed: **Ichiban Victory** (Hey, thanks! Xelloss is such a mysterious character, and he's always got a reason for doing the things that he does – for good or bad. But everyone has an Achilles' heel…), **Valk** (I'm very much looking forward to the next Xel/Filia chapter as well, but I wanted to get to Val first. I hinted a bit at why the two broke up, but we'll get into that a lot more in another chapter. Thanks!), **Kaeru Shisho** (These two are so fun to write about. They've still got a lot of stuff to work through, but we'll see how willing each one will be. Filia's got her hang-ups, but Xel does as well – both are pretty well justified, too. It's going to be a bumpy ride… -winks- Hope you liked this chapter as well! –hugs-), **Savage-eagle** (Wow. –blushes- Thank you so much! I feel honored that you're enjoying them! And as for more stories? I'm in the initial planning stages for a sequel to _Slayers: A Spaghetti Western_. I'm also planning a Slayers romp through insanity with one of my friends, but I think we will need many margaritas and tequila shots to reach the goal we're planning. But first comes L&L and WML…), **Lina Gabriev** (Thanks so much! Oh, Xelloss is the master of pushing people's buttons and doing inappropriate things, so never say never with him! And as for Val… -sweatdrops- I've got to find a nice girl for him somewhere. After all I've put him through, he deserves someone who'll accept him, warts and all, so to speak. I'm thinking… -winks- I hope this chapter also answered your question about his friendship with Lina. Thanks again!), **dragonet** (Thanks, I think? –chuckles- I know that my stories won't appeal to many people, but I appreciate the fact that you've at least tried. I'm glad you enjoy the side stories, though!)

Click the button and review!


	7. Four Meetings and a Funeral

**Disclaimer**: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade, _so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. Please don't sue.

Occurs around chapter 21 to 23 of _Life.___

**Chapter 7**

**_Four Meetings and a Funeral_**

Okay, so she had made another mistake.

What the heck was she thinking, giving Xelloss her cel phone number? She might as well have given a snake a nice defenseless mouse…

"You know that you don't have to keep coming back here to get looked at, right?" she asked as the trash lid slammed shut. Filia pulled off her latex gloves with a snap and turned around to regard the man who was sitting on the examination table. He had the nerve to actually come in three days after she had last seen him and request her 'services' once again.

Thinly veiled intentions.

Well, at least she could see right through them this time.

"But Miss Filia," he explained as he pulled his shirt back on, "Zelgadiss really did a number on me the other day…"

"Well, that was your own fault, wasn't it?"

He smiled. "That actually wasn't what I was talking about. We worked out the next day. He was rather… angry. Not at me, amazingly, but I was still the unfortunate victim of his emotions."

"You fought again?"

"No. Worked out."

"That was dumb. No matter how small the wound, you can reopen it with too much exertion…"

"Therefore, the reason for my visit."

"And that visit is over, so here's your bill. I already told you. Whatever we need to say to each other can wait until this weekend." With hardly a glance back, she opened the door and returned to her station, all the while, silently fuming at his gall.

To make matters worse, as he passed her on his way out, he whispered just loud enough for her co-workers to hear, "I look forward to seeing you this weekend, Filia." And with a smirk and a wink, he was gone.

That sparked a whole round of denials from Filia as to what exactly her relationship was with this particular good-looking patient. Two days later, she was still fending off the rumors circulating around the hospital about the shrew finally becoming tamed, but by that time, she was beginning not to care.

She had been leaving work on Friday when Val called her needing a favor. It was a simple enough request, something that was easy for her to accomplish, but something that would cause her to break her appointment with Xelloss. She agreed with a somewhat guilty heart; she was going to go back on her word to meet up with Xelloss the next day. But it was only because Val needed her.

And, of course, when she called him to give him the bad news, it did not sit too well with Xelloss. His silence should have been her first indication of his displeasure.

"Are you still there?" she asked.

"_Yeah._"

"I'm sorry. I just found out today. If I had known earlier, I would have let you know."

"_So, regardless of the fact that **we** already had a date…_"

"It's _not_ a date!"

"…_ since last week, you're going to ditch me at the last minute to rush to the rescue of that good-for-nothing…_"

"Xelloss," she warned.

"_… kid who can't even have the decency to let you know in advance that he's going to have a funeral for another reprobate?_"

"I'm hanging up the phone!"

"_Hn__… that's how it still is, huh?_"

"I'm not having this conversation with you now, Xelloss."

"_And that means that I should sit twiddling my thumbs until you decide to call me back?_"

"Lina, Val and Amelia need a ride to the Marina so they can have the last rites for their friend. For you to call that boy a reprobate is totally heartless, Xelloss, regardless of what he did."

"_You didn't answer my question, Filia._"

"See? This is why I left you in the first place! You… you…" She sighed. Why did her chest hurt so much? Why were her eyes burning? Dammit. "I've got to go."

Filia turned off her phone. Needing time to think, she continued to drive until she reached a tiny store on the fringes of downtown. It was a very unassuming place, set on the street-level corner of an apartment complex, and painted in a drab olive green to match the vines trailing up a trellis in front of the store. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door, a tiny bell signaling her entrance.

It was a cozy place, decorated in rich Victorian lace and toile, with dozens of tables situated about, each covered with the frilly fabric tablecloth and topped with a full tea service. Behind the counter were no less than thirty metal canisters, each filled with different and aromatic tea leaves. Steam rose into the air from two hotpots boiling water as well as three steeping teapots, ready to serve. A woman in her forties, dressed in an elegant purple dress with a matching scarf wrapped about her neck, turned around with a tired smile.

"Welcome to the Vintage… Why, Filia dear, what happened to you?"

Miss Beverly, the Tea Mistress, held out a comforting arm to the young woman and immediately guided her to a small table in the corner, ignoring the curious glances from the other patrons.

"Jerry, a pot of French Vanilla Plum, please?" she called back to the man behind the counter. To Filia, she continued, "And a serving of tea sandwiches and cakes, my dear? The usual?"

Filia didn't realize that she must have appeared exceptionally distressed, but from the normally stoic woman's reaction to her, she guessed it to be so. Only finding the strength to nod, she allowed herself to be steered to her table. Lowering herself into the chair, she quietly fumed over the situation she now found herself in.

Who did he think he was? The arrogance! The utter disregard for her feelings!

Jerry set a steaming pot that was wrapped in a pink and lavender cozy in front of her and left her with a worried glance back. With hands shaking with irritation, Filia tipped milk and sugar in her teacup before pouring herself a cup of tea. As she sipped the soothing liquid, she began to feel more like herself.

And she began to feel guilty. She had just chosen Val over him, after all.

"Family comes first," she tried to convince herself, but it wasn't working very well. "He's just being overbearing…"

"_But you know that he's got a right to. Wouldn't you feel the same if you were in his shoes?_" her conscience calmly wondered as Miss Beverly placed a plate of cucumber sandwiches, tomato, basil and cheese sandwiches, and tea cakes before her.

"Eat up, dear. Can I get you another tea?" she asked.

"No, thank you, Miss Beverly. I'm just a bit… stressed out right now," Filia said with a small laugh. "Thank you, though."

"Anything you need, Filia, just let me know."

"Thank you," she repeated and continued to sip at her tea. Guilt was building inside her with each finger sandwich she ate. With each dainty bite, she began to feel more and more reasonable, and by the time she was finished with the plate and the pot of tea, she had decided to turn on her phone.

Almost immediately, it began to ring, startling her so badly that she nearly dropped it in her cup.

"Hello?" she answered without checking the caller id.

"_Filia?__ Don't hang up, please. I'm sorry._"

Her heart relented, and she sighed. "No, Xelloss. _I'm_ the one who should apologize. It's just that…"

"_You don't have to explain, Filia._"

"No, I should. I… I really…" Her brow furrowed as she sought to find the right words, but they just weren't coming. She absently knocked the side of her head against the wall in frustration. Why was she suddenly so tongue-tied when it came to him?

"_Don't do that, Fil. You're going to dent the wall._"

"I know," she growled, covering her face with her free hand, and then she froze. "Where are you?" she demanded while her eyes scanned the windows and then settled on the tall form standing in the doorway.

If she lived to be a hundred, she truly believed that she would always find the man irritatingly attractive, no matter what they had been through personally. Tall and lean, mysterious and dashing, Xelloss had a presence about him that commanded attention while diverting it expertly away from himself. He was a master at manipulating people and the world around him, but he had a weak spot that she had only discovered after years of retrospection, and one that she had a pretty strong feeling still existed.

Herself.

Now, if she were a ruthless individual who preyed upon the weaknesses of others, then she most definitely would have used her power over him to her advantage. But she liked to think of herself as a good person, someone whose goal in life was to help people and to make the world a better place. And though she was frowning the whole time, she pushed out the other chair and motioned him over to sit.

"How'd you know where to find me?" she asked as he sat down.

Miss Beverly eyed him disapprovingly out of the corner of her eye, and when she placed a fresh pot of tea before them, she asked pointedly, "Is everything alright, Filia?"

"Yes, Miss Beverly. This will be my last pot. Thank you."

Once the woman walked away, Xelloss poured himself a cup of tea, complete with sugar and milk, the way Filia had shown him once upon a time.

"How do you think I knew?" he wondered between sips.

She almost laughed. "I guess I don't have to. You were the one who found this place for me after all… Look, Xelloss…"

"We don't have to talk right now, Filia," he said with surprising gentleness. "Just - don't forget your word."

It was a pleasant, but quiet, tea after that. Xelloss ended up paying for her afternoon tea, as well as a cup and saucer that had caught her eye (as a good-faith gift, he said.) But when she went home, she found it difficult to keep her mind from the old but familiar feelings that she had actually enjoyed in his company.

* * *

The funeral was far from orthodox. After picking up Amelia and Lina, she and Val drove to the Marina where she had just intended to wait for them, but at Lina's insistence, Filia joined them. They checked in at the dock, and followed one of the men out to the correct slip, past boat after shiny boat until they reached a rather beat-up junky fishing boat.

"Bebop…" Filia read the name on the rear of the boat. "Are we going on _that_?" she asked, trying to keep the worry from her voice. Filia didn't know a single thing about boats, despite having been born and raised within five miles of the ocean. All she knew was that they floated and bobbed around a lot, and that was giving them credit for staying afloat in the first place.

Val looked back at her, and despite the somberness of the occasion, he laughed at her. "I told you we're going to spread his ashes in the ocean. How did you think we'd get there?"

She glanced back at all the clean and well-cared-for boats they had just passed and then at the pile of junk that seemed to be sinking even now. "Can't we take one of those?" she posed, but knew the answer before the question was out of her mouth.

"Sure, but we don't know the owners of any of those. It's okay, Filia. This one is owned by an ex-Saillune PD officer."

"And that should make me feel better… how?"

"It'll be alright, Miss Filia," Amelia said with a smile, placing a comforting hand on her trembling arm. "Mister Jet takes good care of it, despite its looks."

"Yeah, don't worry. _I_ wouldn't get on it if it would sink, and I actually _live_ on the damn thing," a silky voice said at her shoulder, and Filia turned in surprise.

One of the most beautiful women she had ever seen stood before her, clad in what appeared to be one of Amelia's sister's fashions: a pair of bright yellow hot pants with a matching bright yellow halter top, a red oversized tied-off shirt, thigh-high stockings and white ankle boots. Hardly a fisherman's attire, that was for sure, but there was a hardness about this woman. Despite her beautiful glossy purple hair (which reminded her painfully of Xelloss… dammit!), and her unblemished milky skin, her emerald green eyes appeared suspicious, tired, angry, and sad all at once.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say…"

"Hey, you're not offending me. 's not my boat. Hey, Val. Mel," she grumbled a greeting and stepped forward to the Bebop. With an ease that demonstrated her years of practice, she hopped to the ladder and pulled herself up and onto the deck. Without a backward glance, she disappeared below deck, leaving the small group where she found them.

"Well, that was rude!" Lina complained. "She didn't even invite us on or anything."

"Miss Faye is just like that, Miss Lina," Amelia explained, following the woman's example and jumping to the ladder. Her foot slipped, but her grip was strong enough to keep her steady, and she scrambled up and over the side.

"Hey, watch what you're doing, Amelia! You could have fallen in!" the redhead scolded, easily hopping aboard.

"Sorry."

"You should be more carefuuuul!" Lina slipped on a wet spot on the deck and crashed into the younger girl.

Filia watched them bicker for a moment before she realized that she, too, would have to cross the two foot gap to reach the crusty ladder and board the questionable vessel. She had backed away a step, so completely ready to head back to the car, when Val took her hand, pulling her towards the boat.

"Come on. I'll keep you steady," he said, and though his gallantry was commendable, his timing was lousy. After what she had just seen, there was _no way_ she was going to get on that thing…

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­"Mel-mel!!!" a high voice squealed as Amelia was pounced on by a thin girl with hair much like Lina's in color, but more on the brownish side.

In fact, Ed seemed much more tamed, in general, than she ever was. Val supposed it had something to do with the death of her shipmate a few years back. He didn't know all the details, but apparently, the man still had links to organized crime, and they wouldn't leave him alone. Another story had something to do with a woman, but he doubted it was Faye. She seemed more subdued than Ed and Jet were nowadays.

But as dysfunctional as this little family was, despite all the fighting and the danger, Ed truly seemed happy here. The social workers kept trying to take her away, saying how the girl couldn't possibly be raised in the company of bounty hunters who weren't even a family. It wasn't a wholesome environment: two young women living with two bachelors. But in the end, they had decided that it was better than the family she had come from: a father who neglected her, who loved rocks more than his own daughter, and a creepy assistant who kept eyeballing the girl as she grew up. Apparently, her father was in another country now, with a new assistant (he actually listened for once when Ed had told him that the creep had made a move on her) and a new set of goals that had nothing to do with her.

And Jet and Faye kept her clothed, kept her fed, and kept her relatively happy by employing her services in their business. Ed, now seventeen, was clad in oversized cargo pants and a mini black tank top, an outfit that perfectly described her rough and tumble personality. Her hair was just below her ears now, layered and flipped up and held in place with a pink headband.

If Val didn't already know her, he'd probably think she was a cute little thing who he'd like to get to know better. But he _did_ know her, and she definitely was too… bizarre for him.

"Val-person!!!" Ed yelled in his ear as she wrapped herself around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Damn. Now his clothes were going to be wrinkled.

"Hey, Ed. You look like a girl now," he grumbled grudgingly.

Her light brown eyes took in his form, and she slid off of him. He straightened out his white dress shirt and his slacks, glad that she hadn't held onto him for very long. When he glanced up, she was still staring up at him. Finally, she opened her mouth. "Wow. You're tall now."

"Naw. You just got shorter." He ruffled her hair, fluffing it out a little, and amazingly enough, she didn't fight him. "What's with the headband?" he wondered, tugging it slightly off kilter.

"Leave it alone!" she almost yelled as both her hands flew up to hold the pink thing in place. Val froze, and Amelia and Lina stopped their bickering to watch. Ed just stood there, fixing the headband until it sat correctly in her hair. "Faye-faye took money from Jet-person to buy it for Ed," she explained in a subdued voice, "so Ed will look more like a girl."

Val had enough girl friends to know when he had hurt one of their feelings. He hated feeling like a dork. "Well, it's working," he tried. When she didn't immediately perk up, he tried a different approach. "Hey, you've never met Filia, have you?"

That did the trick. Her face brightened and she looked around. "Fil-fil?"

"Yeah, she's my foster sister…" he began, holding out his hand to Filia, who was clutching onto the boat rail and trying to stay as close to the deck as possible. She didn't look too happy at all.

"Friend-sister! Will Fil-fil be coming with us to free Wen-person?"

Filia looked uncomfortably down at the girl who had just glomped her free arm. Val could almost sense the scream that she was holding in.

"Yes, she is. But I think that she needs to stay below deck until we get further out. She's not too used to boats. Can you show her your Tomato?"

"Tomato?" Filia asked, trying desperately to keep her lunch in as they walked across the deck to the door that Faye had disappeared into. "I'm not hungry…"

Ed squealed with delight. "Silly Fil-fil! Tomato's not a tomato. Tomato is Tomato! You say potato, and Ed says po-tah-toe…"

Luckily, they moved out of earshot before Ed could display the very reason Val had always kept the girl at a wary distance. Damn, but she could talk the ear off of anyone around, yet still hardly say a damned thing.

"Glad that's over," Lina muttered, still holding Amelia in a headlock. The girl seemed as oblivious as she was. "Hey, Val! When's this boat going to set sail?"

"Well…"

"This _ship_ is going to _cast off_ in two minutes, once I get the _engine_ checked and prepped to go," a deep, gruff voice grumbled from the bridge. "As you can see, this is a fishing vessel, devoid of any kind of sail. Now, if you don't mind, would you please release your friend? I don't like fighting on my ship."

To her credit, Lina didn't shoot off a smart remark, though she terribly wanted to. Instead, she bit her lip and let go of Amelia's neck, patting her gently on the back. Even when they roughhoused, Lina was always careful not to hurt any of her friends, a fact that Amelia was very vocal to point out, especially now as she followed the voice to the bridge.

"… so you see, Mister Jet, Miss Lina wouldn't hurt me, even if I deserved it. She's got a great deal of self-control… well, except when it comes to eating," she added under her breath. Luckily for Amelia, Lina had become completely engrossed in the gadgets and knobs and levers on the control panel that she hadn't heard the added comment.

Then Jet laughed, a pleasant rumbling that issued forth from deep down in his chest and erupted in a natural exclamation of entertainment. "I'm glad to have you kids aboard, though from what Ed tells me, I wish it had been under better circumstances." He flipped a couple of switches and turned a key, and the engine roared to life. Val stood framed in the doorway, ready to say something, but Jet began to put him to work. "Val, right? Can you untie the mooring line and jump back aboard? You know what that is, right?"

He waved him off, and disappeared, muttering, "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

"Can we help, Mister Jet?" Amelia asked, hopeful to be of some use.

The man seemed to consider it for a moment, but his better sense won out. If he could remember correctly, Amelia had always been a bit of a klutz and prone to falling at the strangest times. "No, you ladies are guests on my boat. You don't have to lift a finger."

The cacophony of noise that filled the bridge at that comment was incredible.

Val: "Hey, I'm a guest and _I_ just untied your damn line!"

Faye: "What the hell? _They_ don't have to lift a finger, but _I_ do???"

Lina: "_You_ just called it a _boat_!"

Jet pushed the throttle forward and the Bebop surged towards the waterway. Only Faye, who was used to life on the _boat_ kept her balance, while the rest fell back in a tangled heap.

"You have to, Faye, because you live here. That doesn't mean that you do. Besides, we have an arrangement, and I'm content enough to leave it at that. Doesn't mean I can't gripe about it, though."

Faye almost smiled, but her self-assured smirk said enough. "By the way, I came up to tell you that Ed's cracked the firewall on the Masters case. We'd better hurry this little soiree up if you want to move on it."

"We'll go out as far as the deeper water so they can spread their friend's ashes, then we'll head on back."

"Good. I don't think the blonde's going to make it very long out on open water, anyway." Faye patted Jet's shoulder and finally smiled, a tired but bemused sort of smile that Jet had come to appreciate. "I'm going to be down in my room if you need me. Good luck babysitting."

"Yeah. I'm going to need it…"

* * *

Filia didn't know Wen, and she didn't know Ed or Jet or Faye. She couldn't say whether or not she would have rather been having lunch with Xelloss, or being there for her friends when they needed her. After all, Lina was there for the same reason, so why shouldn't she?

The continuously rocking motion of the boat and the stuffy compartment which served as Ed's room was beginning to get to her, and she sought fresher air. At least if she was on deck, she'd be able to vomit over the side of the boat. Just what she was looking forward to on a nice Saturday off.

She found Lina sitting dangerously on the rail, one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun so she could see where they were headed. Her tumbles of red hair floated about her head as if possessed by an energy the woman naturally exuded. Well, if Lina could sit and tolerate all of this for a person she hardly knew, then so could she.

"Sit down before you fall down, Filia!" she yelled over the wind. Clutching the wall the whole time, Filia made her way to her friend and sat down in the seat next to her. "You don't look too good."

"I don't feel so good. Everything keeps moving up and down and up and down…"

"Then don't look at the boat or the water. You'll make yourself sick. Come up here…"

"You've got to be joking!"

"… alright, then just stand up and hold on to the rail. Look out there." Lina pointed in the direction they were headed, and Filia saw the island in the distance, appearing much closer now that they were away from shore. It was a beautiful sight, with thin wisps of clouds in the dazzling blue sky behind the green and virtually untouched natural splendor of the island, the sunlight catching the tips of the waves and turning the ocean into a blanket of diamonds.

"Amazing…" she whispered, and for the first time since Val picked her up and dragged her aboard the questionable boat, she felt at peace.

"Yeah," Lina continued, "if you keep your attention on a fixed point out beyond the waves and the boat, then the motion-sickness isn't all that bad. And you get to appreciate the fact that the ocean is a wonderful place."

Filia smirked. Of course Lina would say something like that. She was one of those brave souls who not only enjoyed surfing, but she also enjoyed swimming in the middle of the ocean with dolphins. It was a great concept, and if Filia ever had the nerve to try something like that herself, she was sure that she would love it as well, but she just couldn't quite get over the fact that the ocean floor was waaaaaaaay too far below for her taste.

But still, the natural beauty was intoxicating, and she felt herself relaxing. "Thank you, Miss Lina. I feel much better now."

"Good. I can't have you getting sick on us, can I? Especially when it was my idea for you to come on the boat too."

Filia smiled at that, and then a startling realization hit her. Lina was here to help bury Val and Amelia's friend, but that same friend very nearly killed Gourry. How could she be so calm? Better question, how could she even be here?

"Miss Lina? May I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Are you okay with all of this? I mean after what happened to Mister Gourry…"

A strange look clouded Lina's face, and she stared down at the water. "It's still hard to think about, you know," she began. "When I think about how close he came to dying that day…" She shuddered, and tried to shake it off. "He did it willingly, you know. He's a cop, and he'll always put himself in harm's way to make sure innocent lives are protected. I figured one day, he'd join S.W.A.T. or something. You know, something that showcases his talents more. But he's content to be a regular officer, first on the scene, first in the line of fire…"

"It sounds like you've got a problem with that."

"Huh? Oh, well, you know, I don't want anyone to get hurt…"

"Especially someone you care about so much?"

That same haunted look crossed her features again, and she sighed. "Filia. Can I ask _you_ a question?"

"What is it?"

"Remember when you and Xelloss broke up?"

To say that she was surprised would be an understatement, but she managed to croak out a, "Yes."

"You said that because he was the way that he was, because of the way he warped the truth and never gave you a straight answer, you would never be able to be with him the way that you wanted."

"Yes," she repeated, wondering where this was leading.

"Well, it's kinda the same with Gourry."

Filia was shocked. "Gourry lies to you?"

"No!" she corrected quickly. "Not at all. If anything, he's way too honest for his own good. You see, he's a cop who will always be putting himself in danger. That's just who he is. I don't know if I can ever… _be_ with him the way I… I want to be selfish and ask him to quit, but I could never live with myself if he quits only because of me. That's not fair to him. If he can't give it up, then I still want to be able to protect him, but I don't see how I can."

"Have you ever thought of joining the force?"

"_Me???_ A cop? Oh, heck no! I've got a problem with authority as it is. I don't think I can take orders from someone. I like to make up my own rules," she declared, and the smile reappeared on her face.

"Then it sounds like you'd be a pretty good bounty hunter," someone interrupted, and the girls glanced over their shoulders. Faye was standing behind them, one arm hugging her bare stomach and the other lifted so her hand could shade her eyes. A lit cigarette hung from her red lips, bobbing up and down as she spoke. "Not that I'd like the competition, but you remind me a lot of somebody."

"Really? And who would that be?"

Faye just smirked and took a long drag. After slowly exhaling, she looked Lina up and down. "Naw. Stick with what you're doing, kid. You wouldn't believe the wrinkles this job can give you." And with that, she sauntered away, flicking her cigarette butt into the water.

"Hey! You're polluting the ocean!" Amelia yelled from her perch atop the other railing with Val, but Faye ignored them with a dismissive gesture, highly reminiscent of their red-headed friend.

Lina shrugged and muttered under her breath, "Maybe in another life, then…"

Filia studied her for a moment, wondering at the conflict within Lina's head and heart regarding Gourry. It was amazing that something so complex as love could baffle this young woman who could so easily solve everyone's problems but her own. Leave it to Lina to dole out advice left and right regarding sibling relationships, affairs of the heart, and interpersonal conflicts, yet still be so unable to deal with her own sister and her non-boyfriend.

"So, the real reason I wanted to talk to you," she was saying in a low voice, "is Amelia's birthday. Naga and I were discussing it, and we want to go clubbing. Girls only. Tons of fun. What do you think? Would you be able to help us plan it for next week sometime?"

A party? "Sure. Did you need help with the food, or location, or what?"

The steady low rumble of engines abruptly stopped, and Ed appeared in the doorway next to them. Lina whispered to Filia as she hopped down from her perch, "I'll call you later. It looks like this is it."

In the end, it turned out to be a plain ceremony, without the flowers or the mourners of other funerals, just the glistening water and the faint wailing of gulls. Val dug into his backpack and withdrew a small plastic container. It was a simple thing, something that one would easily pass over as unimportant, but he held it as if it were some kind of treasure. Amelia and Ed joined him at the stern, their backs to the wind as they spoke in low tones.

Filia and Lina never heard what the trio said to their friend as they scattered his ashes into the ocean, freeing him from the bonds of a life that had not been kind to him. It was an amazing thing to see the devotion of a group of kids whose only common ground was their time together in a correctional facility, and it was their bond that had drawn them to perform a service that no one else would have cared to complete.

Lina was the first one to step forward to the hugging group, and with a tentative hand on Amelia's shoulder, she allowed herself to forgive the boy who had almost killed the most important person to her. Filia followed suit and embraced them all, her palm resting gently on Val's elbow. He had been such a pain all those years ago, but it was his friendship with these girls that had calmed him and brought out the kind and caring boy she had always known was there. Faye awkwardly patted Ed on her head as she stared across the water, yet her thoughts inevitably turned to another informal service they had held on the same boat in the same waters not too long ago.

Jet silently watched them all, his brow creasing at the circumstances that had brought them all together once again. Although he didn't want to believe it, sometimes there were such things as hopeless cases. Victoria would weep.

* * *

When Filia stepped (actually, fell is the more appropriate word) off the boat, she vowed to never again board a thing like that again. They had returned to the marina quickly, skipping over the waves, to Lina's and Amelia's great delight. They stood at the bow of the ship, arms thrown out to their sides screaming, "I'm the king of the world!" into the wind and laughing the entire time. Not amusing to Filia. The rolling motion was too much for her to handle, and she was just glad that Val held her hair back while she puked her guts out over the side.

She had just settled into bed with a nice cup of peppermint tea that night when Lina called her to go over the details of the party. It was a surprise party that would be an all night affair with the possibility of spilling over to the next day. Fortunately, it happened to be the two days she actually had off of work. Unfortunately, it happened to be the two days she actually had off of work.

Xelloss was not going to like this.

She had promised him that the next day off she had, they would have the 'talk' that they needed, and from the looks of things, she was going to have to put it aside again.

"Hi, Xelloss?"

"_Filia?__ What a pleasant surprise._"

"Um… it's not really."

He sighed. "_Don't tell me._"

She rushed forward without thinking to explain. "Xelloss, it's Amelia's birthday, and Lina and Naga are throwing her a surprise party at some ritzy club. I've got to help set up and everything, and since it's going to be all night, I won't have any time. And the next day is her actual birthday, so I'll be going to that as well. I didn't plan any of this, I'm just helping out. Can we please re-schedule our meeting?"

A shadow crossed her doorway, and she looked up. Val was standing in the hall, arms crossed and a look of disapproval on his face. Filia felt as if she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar.

"I'll call you back," she said hurriedly and hung up the phone.

"Was that who I think it was?" Val asked, his eyes still boring into her skull.

"Who do _you_ think it was?"

"_I_ think it was Xelloss, and I think that you're nuts if you're talking to him again. Do you even _remember_ what he did to you?"

Her infamous temper flared to life. "Of course I do! I've never _forgotten_ it! It's been years, and I'm still dwelling in the past. I haven't been able to move on, Val, and it's killing me inside. I need to do this so I can get him out of my mind and my life once and for all."

His frown softened, but he held his ground. "I still don't think you should be spending any time with him. You should have your talk and then cut your ties. How many guys have you dated since him? You just need to look around and see who's out there."

"I don't have time for any of that, Val. I barely have enough time for my friends. How can I fit a boyfriend into my life right now?"

"You can't box up your life into your job. Before you know it, you'll be old and regretting the things you should have or could have done, and then it will be too late."

"The great Val speaks from experience?"

"Your job is your drug, Filia. You're using it to escape your pain and your reality as much as I used drugs to escape mine. Shoulda woulda coulda. And there are a lot of things I regret, and it's too late for me now."

The scathing reply she had at the ready stopped on her tongue. Val hardly ever spoke of his old problems, and when he did, Filia was not the one he usually confided in. He was trusting her with his feelings. She should trust him with hers.

"That's why I need to do this, Val. I still care about him deep down inside, despite everything that happened. I can't keep holding onto the hope that he'll change and become the person I thought he was, but I don't know if he can unless I can work it out with him. I need to know the truth."

"What makes you think he'll tell you the truth? He's lied to you before."

"He twisted the truth until the only possible truth was a lie. I don't think he'll do that to me this time because things are… different now."

Val nodded, and after a moment, he uncrossed his arms and stuffed his hands in his pockets, a clear sign that he was feeling bad about his earlier outburst. Then a smirk appeared on his lips. "So what's all this about Amelia's surprise party?"

Caught. But this time, Filia didn't feel bad about it at all.

* * *

The music was loud, and all Filia could hear was the rhythmic beat, thumping in time with the multicolored lights. It had taken her a while to feel comfortable in her outfit, but she was just thankful that she wasn't in some flesh-baring outfit like Eva's. Pink shortalls covered much more than the other girls' outfits, so she couldn't complain. She had to admit: she really loved the boots and the fedora.

When Xelloss sidled up and tapped her on the shoulder, momentary embarrassment caused her to tug at the hem of her outfit. He merely smiled and pulled her away to dance.

He had asked the typical questions when she called him back: who, where, when. She supplied them innocently, trying to explain the importance of what it was that took such precedence over him. After several minutes, however, she realized what he was planning. After a few more minutes, she convinced him to keep it quiet and not as obvious as it could be. Val had been impossible to convince to stay home, so she had put him to work right away. It was his job to make sure the food was set up correctly at the club. Xelloss would just 'happen' by the Citadel that night. With any luck, her slip-up could be played off.

But from the looks of things, she wasn't the only one who slipped up. Glancing around the dance-floor, she saw Gourry, Van, Brian and Zelgadiss as well. Who would have thought that she was not alone?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Xelloss asked in her ear. A shiver went up her spine, and though she understood that it was the only way he could communicate with her in this deafening place, she still pushed his face away.

"Don't do that!" she yelled, swatting him on the shoulder.

"A hundred dollars, then?"

She laughed, despite herself. "Maybe later, when I don't have to yell it for everyone to hear. And I'll take it as five twenty's then."

"You pierce my heart, dear Filia."

"You stab my patience, dear Xelloss."

"Touché," he smirked, just before dipping her. Her hand flew to her head to keep her precious hat atop her head, and she stared up at his open eyes beneath a curtain of purple hair. It was an annoying, yet mesmerizing gaze, and she found herself beginning to fall. _I remember when he used to look at me that way…_

He pulled her back up in a flourish, and amidst scattered cheers and applause, they continued to dance. The spell was broken.

"You always knew how to woo an audience," she said, stepping back a bit to keep a safe distance between them.

"An audience or a jury, yes. It's certain individuals I usually have trouble with."

His hand on the small of her back inched its way lower, and she reached back to return it to where it was. "Maybe because you try too hard," she smirked.

"Too much of a good thing?"

"No. More like you don't know when to cut your losses."

"What if it's worth the trouble?"

Despite her rising confidence in this verbal battle of wits, Filia still found herself blushing. "So, I'm trouble, then, am I?" she tried to ask flippantly as she stopped his roving hand once again.

He smiled widely, his eyes closed in a self-satisfied way. "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…" he began.

"… then it's probably an alligator," she finished with a grin of her own as the song ended and segued into another. Wanting another drink, she began to lead Xelloss up to the party suite before he could find a witty retort. Naga stepped in front of them with her arms crossed, and Filia could almost swear she could see the flames leaping from her head.

Uh oh.

Amelia's sister, in Filia's opinion, was a bit of a ditzy party girl, but when she got riled up, she shared the infamous Seyruun trait of overzealousness. She could have simply asked Filia about Xelloss' presence, calmly spoken with her about it, and discussed a solution to any implied difficulties or problems. But Naga being Naga, she grabbed both her and Xelloss' wrists and hauled them upstairs without so much as a 'by-your-leave.'

When they arrived at the private suite, they realized that they were the last ones there. Had they been dancing that long?

Naga swept in and shoved the couple towards the nearest couch, and only Xelloss' quick reflexes allowed them to land comfortably on the black leather. It took Filia a moment to realize that she was actually sitting on his lap in a rather cozy way. She nearly punched him, but he gently slid her off of him and to his side.

"… weren't supposed to bring your boyfriends," Naga spat at the collected group.

Xelloss and Filia immediately jumped apart and denied any relationship.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Not even noticing that Lina and Gourry had echoed the same, Filia and Xelloss eyed each other warily. Of course, _he_ didn't do anything wrong. Filia began to get indignant on Xelloss' behalf. Arguing with Naga didn't get her anywhere, so she gave up and decided to accept her fate… which was that they could dress the men up in women's clothing. Not a bad tradeoff.

Surprisingly, Xelloss proved to be a willing accomplice, and Filia couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that she had insisted after his initial negative outburst and attempt to escape. Whatever the reason, he allowed himself to be shuffled around and poked and prodded into a gorgeous red Chinese dress. Makeup to match, and Filia was one of the first ones finished with her creation.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of dancing and laughter, and for the first time in ages, Filia felt light and trouble-free. Not that she had real difficulties in her life. She had school and work, but not much else. Perhaps that was what was weighing on her chest. She didn't have a life. But here, at a club, dancing with a familiar, if unwelcome, face, she was beginning to feel alive again. Despite the history between them, it was a nice feeling.

"Are you sure Naga said that it would be okay if you brought me home?" Filia asked him much later on that night. Zelgadiss caught some bad guy, Amelia looked depressed, and Lina assured Filia that she would speak with their friend about it. She wasn't quite sure what that was all about, but she now felt that she should remain with her friends to figure it out.

"Of course, Filia. They're driving Val home, so don't worry about him either."

He had changed his clothes and wiped off the makeup she had so carefully applied. Again dressed in his shiny black and tan outfit, he took her hand and drew her away from the crowds and towards the exit. She was surprised he was being so nice, to have even checked to make sure Val was going to be taken care of.

It only occurred to her much later on, that he had been manipulating events again.

It had been an enlightening night, full of fun and food and drink, so Filia was mulling over the evening's events in her mind. She stared out of the window and zoned out with a smile on her face. Yes, tonight was quite enjoyable. The ride was brief, and when they finally pulled in to the parking lot, Filia was jolted out of her musings.

"We're here," Xelloss announced when he parked and turned off the engine.

She looked around. "Where are we?"

"My place."

"I thought you were going to bring me home," she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"And I will. But I don't want to keep putting this off, Filia. We need to talk. It _was_ your idea in the first place."

His eyes opened, and he regarded her with no emotion whatsoever. Why couldn't she read him?

"Fine. Let's talk, and sort this whole thing out so I can move on with my life," she declared huffily, opening the door and stepping out, holding the bag of her clothes to her chest. She looked at her watch. 4:30 AM. It was going to be a long night… morning.

They were silent on the elevator ride up and the walk down the hallway. For her part, her heart was racing, full of dread, worry, excitement, and… she didn't want to put a name to it. Oh, she knew what it was, but there was no way she was going to admit it to herself and never to Xelloss. But the thoughts and the feelings that went along with it kept flashing in her mind:

Xelloss holding her close.

Xelloss kissing her.

Xelloss making love to her…

She shook her head. Never again.

"Nice place," she finally droned out, just to fill the awkward silence. When they had been… together, he was living in a less auspicious apartment. A far cry from this cold artsy condo.

"Thanks. It eats my paychecks."

She looked around and suddenly felt very out of place. In fact, in a place like this, wearing the clothes she was wearing, she felt like Julia Roberts in that movie about the hooker and the ruthless millionaire.

"Where's your bathroom? I want to change my clothes." He led her to a room near the kitchen, and she had to suck back a gasp of surprise. Bright lights illuminated a huge blue bathtub next to a blue-tiled shower, a mirror above the vanity that went all the way up to the ceiling, and a private alcove for the toilet. While she changed her clothes, she idly wondered how big the master bathroom was if this bathroom was as big as her _bedroom_ at home.

Her musings were interrupted when Xelloss knocked on the door. "Filia, did you want to borrow something more comfortable? I've got shorts, or sweats and a t-shirt."

She considered for a moment. Well, she did have to squeeze into her capris earlier, and that was before they ate. Hesitantly, she opened the door a crack and stuck her hand through. Soft clothing was placed in her open palm, and she pulled them inside, closing the door quickly. The soft black shorts and black t-shirt were way more comfortable than either outfit, and she placed her own clothing in the bag.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, she suddenly stopped. Under the bright lights and before the huge mirror, she realized how… content she looked. That crease that seemed to have found a home between her brows was gone, and she had a slight smile that wouldn't go away. It couldn't be him, could it?

Shyly, she stepped out of the bathroom and rolled her eyes when she heard soft jazz music coming from the living room. Leave it to smooth-talker Xelloss to put on smooth music. She found her way to the room and discovered that Xelloss was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt and was already sitting with his head resting on the back of the couch and his eyes closed. He appeared so vulnerable and at peace, so much like he did when they were alone together, that a fluttering in her stomach made her knees weak.

"How can you do this to me?" she whispered as she sat, unable to keep her memories of her feelings at bay any longer. She was falling again.

An eye opened, and he turned his head to look at her. "I'm not asleep, Filia. I was just waiting for you to be finished. Did the clothes fit?" He smiled, but it was that small smile of his, the one that he had just for _her_.

"I'm not talking about that, Xelloss. I'm talking about _this_," she whispered, waving a hand around his general space. "You know how to be so annoying and so controlling, yet at the end of the day, it all falls away, and here's the real you. It's like you're two completely different people."

"I'm only myself, Filia," he said, sitting up. "Things were more… complicated back then. I can only apologize for putting you through that."

And just like that, her blood began to boil, and her voice came out in a harsh shriek. "Putting me through that? Do you know what you did? I loved you, but I was too young to know any better. _You_ knew it was wrong."

When he answered, his voice was uncharacteristically tired. "_I_ was in love, too, Filia. But do you understand the risks I took because I couldn't stay away from you? You were the most beautiful, brightest, most intelligent young woman I had ever met. Problem number one: you were my client. If my bosses even had an inkling that I was having a relationship with you, I'd have been disbarred right away. Problem number two: you were only seventeen. A child, I know, but we _both_ knew what we were doing. I didn't push you, remember? I kept asking you if it was what you wanted."

"I remember," she whispered, choking back tears. He was right. He was absolutely right. Why didn't she see it back then? "I thought that you were lying to me. I thought that you were stringing me along, seeing someone else. You kept changing plans at the last minute and then expecting me to drop everything in my life the second you came knocking. And you never understood the fact that my family is very important to me…"

He cut her off, a scowl suddenly appearing on his face. "Yes, your family. You could never stand up to them, could you?"

"Why are you being nasty about it, even now?"

"It's still the same, Filia. If it came down to it, you'd choose your family over me."

"I'm not _with_ you, Xelloss. Why shouldn't I choose my family over you?"

"Because you need to grow up! You need to make your own decisions and that includes decisions that may go against your family if it's in your best interests. When was the last time you stood up to your father? When was the last time you argued with your mother over something you wanted to do? When was the last time you left Val to clean up his own messes?"

Filia's eyes widened with a realization. "We broke up because of Val," she stated, more to herself than for Xelloss' benefit. "After that incident at that party, you wanted me to distance myself from him, refuse to see him…"

"He hurt you," he declared simply. His brows were knit together, and he was staring at his clenched fists. "When I found out what happened, what he did to you, I wanted to…" He shook his head. "I couldn't see you in the hospital because your father didn't see why it was necessary for non-family members to visit you. I think he wanted to save face. After all, how would it look to people to know that his foster son assaulted his own daughter? I couldn't forgive them for keeping me away from you, but I'll never forgive Val for doing it in the first place."

Filia smiled, feeling surprisingly privileged to have been the object of such devotion. Confusion briefly crossed Xelloss' features at her sudden change of emotion. "There's something you need to understand, Xelloss. You can't monopolize someone's heart, though you may wish it. A person needs healthy relationships amidst the unhealthy ones. I _need_ a relationship with my family, my friends, my co-workers, and anyone else who's important to me. You were asking me to put up roadblocks in all my relationships, just so that we could keep _us_ a secret. Though I understand now the reasons why you did what you did, I still think I did the right thing."

That's right. She did what was best for her back then. She placed a hand on his and squeezed it gently.

"If I had to do it over again, I'd still stand by Val. He's straightened up his life, and he's doing so much better now because of it. If I hadn't, then he could have ended up like his friend who killed himself. And I'm also glad that my parents didn't let you in to see me. If what you're saying is true, then that would have been a sure sign that you cared about me more than you explained to your bosses. You wouldn't be a lawyer anymore, then, would you? And though I've never stopped loving you, I'm glad that we broke up when we did. I probably wouldn't have become a nurse and have such a drive to make a difference."

Xelloss stared at her, surprised at her ranting. She was smiling and happy again in the knowledge that the hurdle that she had been struggling to cross was behind her now.

"Xelloss, my life turned out the way that it is, and I'm pretty happy with it. Now that we've had this talk, I really think that I can move on. I'm going to learn from my mistakes." A great weight lifted from her chest, and she felt as if no matter what he said, she'd be able to handle it gracefully.

"So," he began as he stared at his folded hands, "now that you've talked out some of the more difficult issues of our old relationship, and now that you feel justified in your actions, you're ready to close the book on us?" he asked quietly. Before she could answer, though, he continued, "I never understood why you did the things you did, either, and now I have a better sense of your reasons. But all of this doesn't change the fact that the past is not the present. You said it yourself: you're going to learn from your mistakes. Well, I am, too."

He moved very slowly towards her, yet she didn't push him away or try to flee. Perhaps it was because she was tired, but deep down inside, she knew the truth, though she would never give voice to it.

Their lips met, and it felt as if every nerve in her body fired off at once. She was hot, cold, in agony, in ecstasy all at once. Filia had forgotten what it was like to kiss Xelloss, and her mind descended into blissful oblivion while her body awoke to the memory of long-forgotten desire.

Painfully, he pulled away, and it was then that she realized that one of his hands was up her shirt, caressing her bare back while the other was holding her nape. She opened her eyes and stared back at him, all the while, savoring the feel of her own hands tangled in his hair.

"I'm not going to make the same mistake," he croaked out, his eyes flicking down to take in her swollen lips before returning to search her eyes. "If you still love me as much as you say you do, then I'm not going to lose you again."

He carefully disentangled himself from her and sat up, pulling her to his chest. Unable to help it, she snuggled into him, wrapping her arms about his waist and listening to his racing heart. It was very soothing to be warm in his embrace, and despite her yearnings to continue their kissing, Filia soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

But before she finally succumbed to exhaustion, she heard the low rumble of Xelloss' voice in her head while a soothing hand caressed her shoulder. "I'm going to do it right, this time, Filia. Because I've never stopped loving you, either…."

* * *

Filia opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings. Oh, geez. Where the heck… Oh no. Xelloss' bed.

Sitting up, she looked around her and sighed in relief. She was alone and fully clothed. The bed was undisturbed next to her, and the memories of a few hours before returned to her. Her initial feeling was that of regret. Why had she kissed him? She wanted to move on with her life! But after rolling it over in her mind, she was actually content with the way things went. She was able to get it out of her system. For a while, at least.

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was 8:00; she only had three hours of sleep. Filia pulled herself out of bed and wandered over to an open door. The master bathroom was incredible: a huge whirlpool tub, a stand-up shower with a built-in seat, a wall to wall vanity with double sinks…

After freshening up, she wandered into the living room and found Xelloss asleep on the couch. He appeared so untouched by worry or anger or hidden agendas. Her resolve and her heart melted. Oh, she told herself that she would never give the feeling a name, but she was lying. She loved him as much now as she had before, perhaps even moreso now that she knew that his intentions had been just.

She knelt beside him and draped an arm across his chest, trailing her fingers down his cheek. He opened his eyes in surprise and looked over at her, a smile appearing before his gaze rested on her.

"Good morning," he said, reaching over to stroke her cheek. She couldn't help but smile.

"Good morning. So…" she began, wondering how to put it. What exactly was it that she wanted?

After a moment, he continued for her, "So, you want to know where we go from here?"

She blushed. He could always tell what she was thinking. "Yes. I know how I feel about you, Xelloss, but is it enough? We know _why_ we did what we did, but does that change how we'll handle things now?"

"You're afraid we'll make the same mistakes."

She nodded her head. "I don't even know if this is right for me. I haven't even been with anyone else besides you. How can I know?"

He frowned slightly, but it was fleeting. His hand lowered and returned to his side.

"I guess you can't. We're not together, Filia, but that won't keep me from trying. If anyone's got his eye on you, he'd better get in line." That self-assured smirk was back on his face, and Filia laughed, feeling as if she were meeting Xelloss again for the first time.

"Just promise me something, Xelloss," she said, tapping him on his chest. "Promise that we'll always speak honestly with each other and be open-minded. No more twisted truths, no more hiding or ulterior motives. I want you to be the person I know that you are, behind the trickster's mask. I wouldn't be able to take it if things were the way they were before."

"Only if you promise to be yourself, and not the person everyone else wants you to be. I can take the abuse as long as you stand up for yourself." He laughed when she smacked him on the side of his head, and then tackled her amidst squeals of giggling. "I have to warn you, though," he said, when he finally stopped tickling her, "I'm not going to stand by forever, Filia. I love you enough to give you your space, but it goes both ways. Dating on and off is all well and good, but I'm getting older. One of these days, I may want to get married."

Her eyes widened, and he smirked, tapping her on the tip of her nose. "Not now, and not soon, but one day. Until then," he kissed her again, "I'll keep trying."

_And so will I_, she thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around him again.

* * *

A/N: Hullo, all! I hope you've enjoyed the latest installment of WML. It was a long time coming, but I wanted to get it right. So, now that the two of them have worked out their differences, does that mean they'll get together and be a happy, lovey-dovey couple? Probably not any time soon. It's too much fun writing their arguments, for one. And another, rekindling a relationship that ended badly isn't necessarily an easy thing to do. Time and patience. We'll see if it works out.

Now, to pay my respects: the tea house that Filia went to was the Vintage Tea Leaf, a wonderful little place near downtown Long Beach that my friends and I go to every now and again (and, yes, the tea mistress is Miss Beverly). I _love_ their French Vanilla Plum…. Movie homage was paid to: _Four Weddings and a Funeral_, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, _Titanic _and _Pretty Woman_.

And, of course, thank you for everyone who's read and a special thanks to those of you who've reviewed!

**Ichiban Victory** (Now we can see how Val's indiscretions directly impacted an already tenuous relationship and why Xelloss hates him so much. Yeah, it seems that Val isn't the only one who's got a weak spot for a girl. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!), **Kaeru**** Shisho** (Poor Val. I've got to ease up on him… one day. I'm just glad that I never had to go through anything like that myself. Man, I had such a time trying to write this chapter, especially when your Fil/Xel chapters came out. I really had to make sure I kept to my original plans and keep my characterizations on track – a difficult thing when _you_ do them so well. You were right: eerie similarities. ;) Thanks again, and I'm off to work on the next chapter of L&L…), **Samantha** (Hey, new reviewer! Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you again!), **Cookie** (Yeah, I had an _extreme_ conflict of interest when I began fleshing out Val's character: I began having Ame/Val wanderings… But don't worry, Zel needs her as well, though it will take him a long time to figure everything out. I hope you enjoyed a bit of Xel/Fil here!), **Lina Gabriev** (Ah, Val and Lina… there's something that I've thought about, and I may include something one day, but it would be much later. Yeah, Val's cleaned up his life, but he, and the people around him, has to live with the consequences of his actions; Xel and Fil being case in point. Makes you wonder how Zelgadiss would handle it if he knew what Val did to Amelia, huh? _wink__ wink_, **jesphoenix05** (Of course you can start an "I love Val" fan club! Either that or a "Broody-boys fan club." But, alas, no. I cannot dump denial-boy, because he's a broody-boy as well – you'll discover the depths of his despair in a later chapter of L&L. Well, at least one relationship is getting a kick in the pants here. I hope you liked this chapter!), **Psycho Kitten (**Hey, another new reviewer! I hope you liked this one, too! Look forward to hearing again from you!)

Thanks again, and by the way…

Click the button and review!


	8. Love Moves a Fingernail

Disclaimer: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade_, so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. Please don't sue.

Occurs around chapter 27 of _Life_.

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Love Moves a Fingernail**_

Amelia was beginning to piss her off.

Lina frowned at the girl sitting across from her at the study table in the library. Her head was bent low over a thick Physics book while she was taking notes in a spiral-bound notebook, her short black hair forming a curtain around her face. Another thinner lab book was draped across one corner of the paper, and in a huff, she flipped the book closed so she could continue writing. Two minutes later, she sighed again when she realized that she had lost her place when she closed the lab book, and 'tsk-ed' when she had to open it again.

Yeah. Amelia needed to be slapped.

Or at least forcibly removed from the stressful situation she had put herself in.

As she pretended to work on her History homework, Lina began to formulate a plan. Amelia needed to get away for a weekend to relax. What place was more fun than Atlas City, a city where you could indulge in any number of vices? Oh, and since Zelgadiss' birthday was coming up, maybe she could con… er… con_vince_ Gourry to split Zel's expenses with her and treat him to a relaxing weekend as well. And then with a couple of well-placed pushes, maybe Amelia and Zelgadiss could finally get their act together and figure out what everyone else knew already: the two liked each other a lot.

See? Three birds with one stone!

Oh, and if they stayed at _Thebes_, then she could check out the hieroglyphics for her Ancient Languages essay.

Another one down. How efficient!

She smiled, despite the growling girl who was glaring at a giggling group of girls at the next table. Yes. Atlas City sounded like the perfect solution to all their problems.

Lina Inverse was a genius.

* * *

Okay, so Amelia was _really_ pissing her off.

That girl was wound so tight that Lina wanted to snap her in two, just to save her the trouble from snapping again later. The nerve! For her to yell at her like that after she had driven them there, paid for their room, and made reservations for them all at the Bali High Spa.

"Lina?"

Forget it! She could just make her own way and find her own damn room!

"Um… Lina?"

"What?" she said, glaring up at her companion. They were at Nyo-Heron's Roast Beef, and had ordered the largest selection of meats on the menu, as well as four different side dishes to split: garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, roasted vegetable medley, and crab-stuffed tomatoes.

"Aren't you going to need that to eat?" Gourry pointed at her hands. She had been holding a fork and had just bent it in half in frustration. "Oh, no!" Her eyes darted around the table, but the only other fork there was… She batted her eyes cutely. "Oh, Gourry! You wouldn't mind letting me use _yours_, would you? Just until the waitress comes back with another one?"

At first taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "But Lina, if I give you mine, what will I eat with?"

She didn't doubt that he would give her the fork, one way or another, but if you can catch a fly with honey… "It's just until Becky comes by so you could let her know that I need another fork. Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Liiiiina," he whined. He looked doubtful, but handed the coveted fork to her reluctantly. "Just don't snack my food with it, okay?"

She speared her steak and sliced a piece off with one clean swipe. She had to keep herself from smirking at his misuse of the word. "Of course I won't 'snack' your food." _I'll eat it for lunch instead…_

But, alas, it was not meant to be. Becky, the buxom waitress, had rushed to Gourry's aid and produced a fork from her apron pocket, apologizing for the poor construction of the utensils and praising him on his obvious strength at bending the fork in the first place. He smiled at her and rubbed the back of his head, almost blushing under the woman's praise.

"Oh, my! I suppose your little sister needs another fork as well?" the waitress said, looking straight at Lina. Becky gave her another one, and was about to chat it up with Gourry again when she saw that he was more concerned with his companion than herself. She moved on to her next table with a hopeful glace back at them, but no one was paying her any attention.

Lina glanced down at her hands, and was surprised to see that she had, yet again, bent the fork in half. Why did _that_ happen? She hadn't even been thinking about Amelia. In fact, she had been thinking about… the waitress. Was it the fact that she thought that she was Gourry's sister? Or was it because she had been flirting with him? How rude was that? For all that woman knew, Lina could have been Gourry's girlfriend or wife!

She blushed to her roots at the thought, and she hoped that Gourry wasn't paying any attention to her. Luckily – or unluckily, depending on how one looked at it – he was occupied by _snagging_ a carrot off of her plate.

"Hey, jellyfish brains! That's mine!"

"You didn't seem like you were interested in eating anymore." The carrot disappeared into his mouth. That's when she noticed that her plate was half-empty, and that she _hadn't_ eaten that much.

"Give me back my food!" she nearly yelled, reaching across and stabbing the remainder of the pork loin on his plate. Before he could protest, it had been chewed and swallowed in five bites. They battled for each other's meal, and ended up ordering two more plates, just to make it even. The waitress returned much later to give them the check, and in a bold move, Lina snatched it from her hand, scanned it, and then handed it back with her credit card.

"Lina, I was going to pay for it, you know," Gourry said sullenly.

"Yeah," she said as she signed the receipt. "But how many times have we gone to eat and you've paid for it? Can't I do something nice once in a while?"

He regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable. She began to heat up under such close scrutiny, and as he was about to open his mouth to say something, she jumped up from the table.

"Let's get going! I want to get some dessert over at that gelato stand in the casino. I saw that they have a twenty-scoop gelato boat for twenty bucks, but it's free if you can finish the whole thing. What do you say we tackle that before we head over to the paintball arena? That should be great!"

He smiled at her, and she almost melted. Despite the fact that she was still refusing to acknowledge any kind of feelings she may have for him, she still was happy that she made him happy. Silently, though, she hoped that he was really smiling because of her, not because of the thought of a big dessert.

* * *

In the end, they came; they ate; they conquered. They each ordered the special, and they each received it for free. The owner of the stand took a Polaroid of them together, and they signed it before it went up on the 'Wall of Fame' of other conquering heroes. What Lina liked most about the picture was that Gourry had put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, and that he didn't mind when she leaned into him as she gave the camera a thumbs-up.

He was always doing little things like that, putting his arm protectively around her now and again, telling people that he was her sworn guardian, and even putting her up on his broad shoulders like a kid whenever they were at a parade and she couldn't see anything. They had gone to a lot of places together, sometimes with other people, but most of the times quite alone. Never had she given their situation a second thought.

After all, she was not an overly romantic person, finding lovey-dovey couples to be quite gag-able, and incredibly never attracting the right sort of guy. Sure, she'd been hit on by dozens of men, being the beautiful and talented young woman that she was, but they tended to be the slime-ball, self-assured men who only saw her as an object to be dominated.

Lina was _never_ going to be dominated by anyone.

The other guys in her life were hardly the kinds of guys she'd be attracted to either. Val, at first, seemed to be just like those slime-ball jerks, with his roving eyes and his brash manners, but after getting to know him, she discovered that there was actually a nice guy buried beneath the tough-guy front. Still not her type, though, but a good person with good intentions.

Quite unlike Xelloss. He was a creep, through and through. She had no idea why Filia tolerated his antics, but then again, Lina wasn't entirely sure her friend was totally aware of the crap Xelloss had pulled. He was an alright enough guy, very pleasant and funny, but one day, a couple of years ago when she had tried to talk to him about Filia, he had kissed her before she could react. Just remembering that incident made her angry. What she didn't understand was why she hadn't broken his arm right then and there.

Zelgadiss was always so stand-offish, preferring to brood and isolate himself in a book and a cup of coffee rather than interact with anyone on a regular basis. When he_ would _emerge from hiding and seek out human contact, his snide remarks usually irritated her to the point of forcing him back into the abyss of loneliness. Sure, she understood his desire for solitude, but he didn't have to be so damned rough with her about it.

And that left Gourry.

Oh, she liked him well enough. How could she not? He was tall and gorgeous, with model good looks and the body of an athlete. His hair was longer than hers, and she sometimes wondered how he would look without his signature locks, with a clean, short hair cut, but whenever she pictured him in her mind, she feared she would get a nosebleed.

Sexy, yes, but dumb.

Well, she wouldn't exactly call him dumb, really. Sure, she would tell him that to his face, and call him all sorts of names, but that was only because he knew that she didn't really think of him that way. He wasn't very book-smart at all, not really caring what the atomic weight of sodium was, but somehow instinctively knowing that pure sodium was explosive in water. Of course, he didn't remember where he learned that tidbit of information, but it was deemed important enough to file away in the recesses of his brain.

But amazingly enough, his job enabled him to show Lina exactly how capable he really was. He was always partnered with someone who had a tendency to see the obvious, because he had a habit of missing the obvious and noticing the hidden details, something that she had discovered first-hand, and something that she truly appreciated about him.

Zelgadiss, being such a cut and dry person, had been the one who tried to arrest her years ago with the other people she had fought with when they first met, figuring they'd sort it all out later at the station, but it was Gourry who noticed that Lina wasn't the one who had started the whole thing. Her backpack lay torn several feet away, as if it had been ripped from her back as she fled towards the entrance where the fight had taken place. He also noticed the piece of black belt on her keychain and correctly ascertained that she was more skilled than she exhibited by knocking out those guys. They were all moping about on the ground, but none of them required medical attention. Lina, herself, had more bruises than she probably deserved fighting off eight guys.

Ever since then, they had been close friends, shooting off to Atlas City now and again to visit with Zelgadiss, especially when he was in the hospital. She enjoyed the time she spent with him, usually because it involved eating. After all, going to a movie and eating dinner isn't dating at all, right? Neither are road trips to go surfing or going to the shooting range…

At first, her parents were extremely wary of Lina hanging out with a guy who was several years older than her, but when she so succinctly informed them that 1) they were just friends, and 2) she didn't see him that way and even if she did, then 3) her father was _seven_ years older than her mother while there was just a five year difference between her and Gourry, they backed off and gave her the space that they always had given her.

But ever since that whole hostage incident, something had changed.

Outwardly, it seemed as if everything was as it had been. Buddies. Chums. But inwardly, between them, there was an invisible tension that had never been there before. It was as if they were waiting for something. Was he waiting, or was she? What were they waiting _for_? It was a level of discomfort that had been building for several weeks now, and now the touches and glances that never mattered before seemed to be more than they once were.

And now, as she was braiding his hair, something that she never thought twice about, all these thoughts and emotions were racing through her mind, making her hands tremble and forcing her to start over again twice. She knew that he knew that there was something going on with her, but she hoped that he wouldn't bring it up. There was still something in the way…

"Are you done, Lina?" he asked, interrupting her reverie. They had suited up and were in the holding area of the paintball arena. When he saw that she had braided her hair, he asked her to do the same to his so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Yeah. Let me just put this rubber band on…" She twisted the little black circle around the end of his hair, and ran her hands along the long blond braid… just to straighten it out, of course. She blushed.

"Good. I'll take point. You follow low and cover me. Okay?" She blinked. She had never heard him in what sounded like full-police-mode speech. Somehow, it was really… sexy. "Then, let's go get them!" he said when the buzzer sounded a second later.

Crouching low, she followed him into the arena, along the 'street', ducking behind walls and fake cars, cutting through building facades. Just as she was getting into the swing of things, he suddenly stopped, holding up a fist in what she assumed to be a signal to halt. Without looking away, he pointed at his eyes with two fingers and then pointed across the courtyard. She looked in that direction and spotted what he had seen. Two of them, making their way cautiously towards them.

Gourry made a series of motions with his hands, none of which she understood. If this were charades, then she would have guessed that an angel was going to sacrifice bunt to send the runner sliding into home…

"Gourry, what the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" she whispered harshly. Her mask fogged briefly with her breath.

He turned around and looked at her with embarrassment. "Sorry, Lina. I forgot. You'll follow me out, taking cover along the way, but stay behind me. When you have a shot, take it."

She grinned, finally the mere mention of action spurring her forward. She winked at him as she saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

He nodded, and they moved out. Her thoughts were on splattering the opposing team with as much firepower as she could unleash upon them as quickly as possible. That would make her feel immensely better than she felt after fighting with her best friend. Her mind immediately cleared itself of any conflicting thoughts as she zeroed in on her target. Apparently, they hadn't seen her or Gourry; the shorter of the two was stepping hesitantly towards their position.

That was all the encouragement Lina needed. Leaning forward and aiming carefully, she opened fire, squeezing the trigger of her paintball gun as quickly as she could, Gourry following suit. Before she could adjust her aim to hit the person, a figure dove out from behind one of the walls and tackled their target to the ground, sliding several feet before crashing into one of the buildings.

"Let's go, Gourry!" Lina decided, and they both strode forward, aiming towards the settling dust.

Rounding the corner, they came face to face with the barrels of the other guns. But that wasn't what surprised her. The faces behind the masks were all too familiar, and equally surprised to see them. Grinning, Lina tried to fire, only to have the gun misfire with a splutter.

"Lina, look out!" Gourry yelled and pushed her out of the way of a stream of blue paintballs. Once behind cover, Lina turned her gun upside down and gave it a good whack to un-jam it.

"Dammit! Figures it would be _them_," she muttered to herself. "Well, only one thing to do…"

Charging forward, accompanied by her trusty companion, Lina went down shooting, deliberately aiming for Amelia. The two girls stood five feet away from each other, covering the other with splatters of blue or red paint. After being hit several times all over, they looked at each other through smeared masks and began laughing.

Gourry and Zelgadiss, meanwhile, were playing cops, ducking and rolling and hitting each other more precisely than the amateurs. Not having had a gripe with the other, they were enjoying the practice more than the stress-relief. Lina and Amelia leaned back against a wall and watched them having fun.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lina," Amelia said, leaning her head on the older girl's shoulder.

"Me, too, Amelia." An evil grin appeared on Lina's face. "Hey, what do you say we teach the boys how to really let loose?"

Amelia smiled, and they ran off to stalk their friends.

* * *

Who would have thought that paint would soak through the coveralls and end up all over her body? Lina stood in the shower in her room, scrubbing her arms and legs to remove the blue tinge from her skin. Amelia, for some reason, had only mentioned that the paint was kind of difficult to get off, but there hadn't been a trace of red on the girl. Why was the blue so much more difficult to scrub away?

Deciding that enough was enough, Lina rinsed herself off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping her towel around her thin frame. She wiped off the mirror and grimaced. There were still streaks of blue in her hair.

"Dammit." She put on her robe and stepped out into her room to look for her comb. Maybe it would comb out…

_Knock knock._

"Lina?"

She looked, not to the hall doorway, but to the door joining her room to Gourry and Zel's. "Yeah, Gourry?"

"Are you decent?"

"As much as anyone could be, I guess." She rolled her eyes. When was she _ever_ decent? She unlocked her side of the door.

When Gourry opened the door, her first thought was that she wished Amelia hadn't gotten ready so quickly and left her alone. Clad only in a matching robe with his damp hair lying across one shoulder, he had never looked so sexy to her. Of course, the reality of the fact that she was causing the same thoughts to run through Gourry's mind never occurred to her.

"Um… What did you need?" she asked when she found her ability to speak. Even when they had been surfing together, and she had seen more of him than she could see now, she had never been tongue-tied like she was presently.

"Oh," he said, as if realizing that he had actually been the one to ask to see _her_. "Uh, I can't seem to get the paint out of my hair… Zel's gone downstairs, and well… you see, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"O… okay…. Well, what did you want me to do?"

"Do you think you can wash my hair?"

_Oh gosh…_

"Sure." The wheels in her mind began to turn, and before she could think better of it, she added, "But you've got to do the same for me. It's not coming out of my hair either."

She soon discovered how intimate washing someone's hair really was, especially when that person was someone she cared greatly for. She hummed as she took her time, carefully targeting the blue-streaked sections, lathering and massaging his scalp as well, knowing that he trusted her with his precious mane. After she rinsed his paint-free hair and towel-dried it, she stood in the bathroom with her hands on her hips, just watching him curiously. His gaze had an intensity that she found unnerving, yet she refused to back down and look away. He stood and approached her, never breaking eye contact. Reaching out a hand, he brushed against her cheek…

…and pulled a blue lock of hair forward.

"You've got it worse than I did, I think," he said idly, and he steered her to the chair next to the sink for her turn.

Her heart was knocking against her ribs. His words held a double meaning for her. Perhaps she _did_ have it bad for him…

Washing his hair was _nothing_ compared to having her hair washed by him. Soothing and exhilarating at the same time, his fingers running gently through her hair touched something deep inside her that she had never wanted to acknowledge, something that would change not only their relationship, but perhaps another as well.

She loved him.

Oh, she had thought about it enough, but every time she had thought about her real feelings, she had deliberately steered herself away. After all, the girl who had saved Lina's life years ago was desperately in love with him.

Lina was, by nature, a selfish person. When she saw something she wanted, she got it, and if she couldn't get it now, she would soon enough. The first and only instance where that didn't apply was Gourry. She had met Sylphiel around the same time that she had met Gourry, but the girl had made it clear that she had been crazy for the guy since they had been children, and that she was going to follow Gourry into the police academy, even though she had wanted to go into the medical field since she was younger.

How could Lina possibly compete with devotion like that?

Yet, despite the fact that Sylphiel liked Gourry, he didn't seem to reciprocate the feelings. Lina hadn't wanted to be the cause, but if he enjoyed her company more than Sylphiel's, then what could she do? Besides, they were only friends. Nothing more. At least, that's what she thought, until now.

"I'm done, Lina," he said softly, and she opened her eyes. He gently squeezed the water from her hair and wrapped it with a towel.

"Thanks," she answered, putting it up in a towel turban. He opened his mouth to say something, but she moved to the door. "We'd better get ready fast. Zel and Amelia are probably wondering where we are," she said quickly as she walked away. Shutting the door behind her and latching it closed, she leaned against it with her eyes closed.

What was she going to do now?

* * *

Dinner was nice, despite the fact that they were fifteen minutes late. Covering up for their prolonged absence, Lina declared loudly that it sucked having long hair for all that paint to get stuck in. Gourry agreed wholeheartedly, yet surprisingly didn't say anything beyond that. She had been ready to kick him under the table if he mentioned anything regarding their intimate tête-à-tête, but he was strangely quiet after that.

They ate, and it was during dinner that Lina noticed that Amelia and Zelgadiss were acting quite… cozy. They were smiling and laughing a lot, which, for Amelia, was nothing new, but seeing Zelgadiss doing it was jaw-dropping. They shared a quiet joke and he sat there chuckling to himself. Lina caught Gourry's eye and glanced over at the pair. He saw what she was telling him and grinned. He was happy for his friend as well.

Well, even if she didn't get to do any of her class work after all, at least two of her objectives had been accomplished. Now, to work on getting these two alone…

"Let's go see the water show, Miss Lina! I've been wanting to see it for a long time now!" All traces of their previous fight had apparently vanished from her mind.

"Um… actually, Amelia, I already saw it last time I was here," she said, scratching her cheek. Of course, she didn't mention that it was from a car after Naga bailed her and her sister out of jail. "I want to see the volcano erupt."

"Oh. Well, Mister Zelgadiss, did you want to see that instead?" Amelia asked, but Lina cut her off.

"You don't have to do that. No, you go on ahead and see the show. Gourry and I will head over to the other show. We'll see you later! Bye!"

She grabbed Gourry's arm and pulled him along behind her before Amelia could protest. She grinned to herself. Never had such a perfect opportunity presented itself! Amelia and Zelgadiss could get cozy with each other since they were alone in front of a romantic setting…

They stood at the railings in front of the 'volcano' in front of the casino, waiting for the show to begin. Her mind was solely on the status of her friends' relationship that she didn't notice that fire began to dance slowly down the waterfall.

A loud rumble and a huge burst of flames captured her attention a moment later, and despite the fact that she wasn't easily startled, she still jumped in surprise. Gourry's arm was around her, and though she blushed, she didn't push him away. The eruption was nothing new to her; in fact, she had seen it dozens of times but somehow, it was different. Or perhaps _she_ was different.

Warmth spread through her chest, and she found herself strangely calm, despite the fact that they were _so_ close. She began to commit to memory all the little things about everything around her: the railing was chipping paint under her hands, the fire was following a set pattern in the water before them, and Gourry smelled of soap and shampoo and cologne…

She chanced a glance up over her shoulder at him, and to her shock, found that he was watching her intently, the same way he had in the bathroom in his hotel room. Red and orange from the flames highlighted his hair, and she was drawn to him. His open expression of adoration softened, and he leaned closer to her, almost as if he were going to whisper something to her. She turned towards him, and was hardly surprised when his lips gently met hers.

It had been coming to this for a long time. The kiss wasn't anything earth-shattering, but it was comfortable. It seemed that he had always known it, but it had taken her so long to figure it out for herself. It didn't seem like her at all, but it was right, in a way. Gourry usually had better insight into emotions and feelings than she did anyway, though he was sometimes clueless when it came to tact.

"_Hey, why don't you get a room!_" a passerby muttered, and Lina backed quickly away from Gourry, her face as bright as the erupting volcano which had since quieted down. How long had they been standing there kissing in public?

"Lina?" Gourry asked, tentatively touching her shoulder.

She smiled up at him, a genuine and contented smile. "It's okay, Gourry. I've… I've got to have some time to think and work some things out, but…" She slipped her hand into his. "… but it will be okay."

He smiled, and that alone lit up her heart. They returned to their hotel, hand in hand.

* * *

The Bali High Spa was a high-class establishment, recommended by Naga as the best in the city. There was a Men's Wing and a Women's Wing, as well as a community exercise room. The architecture was modeled after a Roman bath, covered from floor to ceiling with marble. There were heated whirlpools, a smaller round one swirling with warm water at the head of two long pools that were filled with bubbling hot water cascading down from either side of the huge tiled decorative divider. At the far side of the two long hot pools was the 'Cold Plunge,' a simple round pool filled with cold water. Just off of the main whirlpool Jacuzzi room was a redwood sauna room as well as a eucalyptus steam room. One whole room was a vanity room, complete with a waist to ceiling mirror on either side of the room, seven stools along the countertop before each vanity station: spray deodorant, four different kinds of lotions and body sprays, hair gel, mousse, or hair spray, combs, and hair dryers available for use. The shower room had a dozen individual shower stalls and attached dressing rooms, complete with complimentary razor, loofa sponge, and shower cap, as well as shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; the separate bathroom had its own miniature washing machine specifically for bathing suits. The relaxation room was well-stocked with buckets of cold water bottles, juices, and fresh fruits. The television lounge offered water, juices, coffee, tea, fresh fruits, and nuts. In addition to all these amenities, they also offered a variety of body treatments, facials and massages.

Lina was surprised to discover that with the purchase of something as simple as a massage and a facial for the girls, and massages for the guys, they would have full access to all of these amenities for the entire day for _free_!

The four arrived at the Bali High Spa after pigging out at the Thebes breakfast buffet, and checked in. She and Amelia waved goodbye to the boys and confirmed that they would meet back outside shortly after one o'clock. They walked into the wing and were greeted by a small woman who asked for their shoe size. After telling her, she handed them each a pair of bumpy sandals and gave them each a key on a springy circle keychain. She quickly explained that the key was for their locker, and that they would find robes inside. Towels were available in the locker room, as well as from any one of the staff.

"... that was the television lounge and here is the Jacuzzi room," she continued as they stepped through the set of double doors. Lina was instantly transported back to an ancient Roman bath. "… you can go inside the pools with a swimsuit or naked if you'd like…"

Swimsuit? Oh, damn! She completely forgot to pack one! She glanced at Amelia who was smiling sympathetically.

"I forgot mine, too, Miss Lina," she whispered.

"… bathrooms are here, showers are down that hall. Please shower before using the Jacuzzis and also at least fifteen minutes before your scheduled massage. Here is the relaxation room; wait here for them to call your name for your massage and facial. We ask that you do not shave if you have a full body massage. That's it. Please enjoy yourselves, ladies."

Lina looked at Amelia, who merely shrugged and trotted off to the locker room. Not entirely sure of what she was supposed to do, she followed along and found her locker next to her friend. Amelia opened her locker and put her purse and shoes inside, and then undressed, completely unembarrassed as she removed her tank top and bra, and her shorts and panties. She pulled out the robe and pulled it on, tying it closed. Then she sat down to remove her socks.

"I hope the guys don't feel self-conscious about undressing in a locker room," she was saying as Lina began removing her clothes. "But I guess they should be used to it, being in the police and all…"

It wasn't as if Lina was a prude or anything, it was just that it was normally easy to look past the fact that Amelia was built better up top than she was, but whenever their bodies were revealed, Lina still inwardly fumed at the fact that she was still an 'A' cup and her younger friend was at least a 'C'. And after that breakfast she gorged, her stomach stuck out almost as far as her breasts…

"… hopefully Mister Zelgadiss will have a masseuse who's okay with seeing his scarred body."

"Oh, he should be okay," Lina explained as she wrapped the robe around her. She put her long hair up in a quick French twist and secured it with a large banana clip. "Your sister said that she would take care of it for me."

"M… my sister?" Why did Lina detect a hint of fear in her voice?

"Yeah, I told Naga we'd be coming here, and she wanted to help out. She got a really great discount, and she said that she'd be able to request a good masseuse for…"

"Tes!" A white robe-clad woman came bouncing out of nowhere to tackle her friend off of the bench. Amelia looked dazed as her big sister pulled her up and dusted her off. Then, Naga turned her attention to Lina. "Glad you could make it, squirt. Hurry up and take a shower so we can all go into the Jacuzzi!"

She shooed them into the shower room, and stood at the entrance with her arms crossed and foot tapping until they emerged. "Well, it's about time. I've been here for half an hour before you two arrived, and it's been so boring. Come on, let's relax!"

"As if anyone can relax around her," Amelia whispered, and Lina laughed. How true.

The young women lowered themselves into the hot water whirlpool, and despite the fact that all three were naked, Naga kept quiet about the fact that Lina's breasts seemed to be less buoyant than the Seyruun girls'. They all sat back with their eyes blissfully closed, feeling the tension ease out of their muscles.

Just as she was about to doze off (something quite dangerous, Amelia pointed out later), Naga whispered in her ear. "So did your cute _boy_ friend come along?"

Her eyes shot open, and she was thankful that the hot water had already made her flushed. "Gourry and I split Zel's room and Spa expenses. Of course, he came along."

"Huh. Funny that you knew _exactly_ who I was referring to." She didn't say anything else. Leaning her head back against the cool marble of the Jacuzzi edge, she closed her eyes and chuckled to herself.

"Gracia, Miss Lina and I are going to the steam room, do you want to come?" Amelia asked suddenly, as if sensing Lina's irritation. Her older sister grunted and shook her head, remaining where she was. "Come on, Lina."

Lina looked at her for a moment, surprised that she had been so personal with her. Only when she was angry or overly emotional did Amelia tend to drop the 'Miss' or 'Mister' from anyone's name. Only her relatives and Jordan had the luxury of being addressed without a prefix.

The two girls stepped out of the whirlpool and put on their robes and their bumpy sandals and walked over to the steam room. In the anteroom, they removed their robes, wrapped themselves in towels, and stepped inside the darkened room. It was like hitting a wall of heat. Lina had thought the temperature drop from stepping out of the Jacuzzi was dramatic; it was nothing compared to the sudden increase in temperature and humidity. They found a seat on the nearest tile bench, and by the time they had sat down, sweat or condensation was dripping down her cheek.

"I figured my sister wouldn't follow us," Amelia stated, leaning back against the warm marble. "She hates sweating or doing anything that would make her sweat, even if it's cleansing."

"Figures," Lina snorted. "Sorry about her being here. When I asked her about what the best spas were, she immediately made plans and invited herself."

"Oh well. Can't be helped."

They sat in companionable silence, sweating out toxins and breathing in the soothing eucalyptus vapors. A sudden rumble and 'whoosh' startled them as steam came rushing in, pumped in from somewhere above them.

"Um… Amelia, about last night…"

Amelia looked sharply at her. "What about last night?" she asked.

"Something happened."

"Oh, did you and Mister Gourry…?"

She was thankful that it was dark. Lina twisted an edge of her towel in her hands. "Well, he kinda… you know."

"Did he… did he _kiss_ you?"

Lina's nod was barely perceptible, but Amelia still squealed in delight and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Miss Lina, that's so great! Finally! Oh, did you kiss him back?"

"Of course," she muttered, disengaging her friend's arms from her, "I'm not crazy."

"When? Where? How did it all start?" she prodded.

Lina explained to her how events transpired, from lunch after their fight until the moment they parted ways at their respective rooms. Next to her, Amelia sighed dreamily.

"I always knew you two would figure things out. Now, I'm glad that Mister Zelgadiss and I didn't go with you to the other show. So, are you going out now?"

"Well, that's the thing. I told him that I needed time to work some stuff out."

"But what kind of stuff? You're not seeing anyone else, are you?"

"No! Of course not. I just… I've just got to talk to someone before I decide for sure on anything."

"Who?"

"Sylphiel."

"Oh."

"Amelia, she's been in love with him since way before I met either of them, but he's never given her the time of day. He's usually pretty astute at noticing other people's feelings, but in her case, either he's just completely blind or he's being a complete jerk to her by ignoring her feelings."

"But what if he's never felt the way she's felt about him? What if he told her, and she likes him anyway?" Amelia couldn't think badly about the guy she saw as an older brother.

"Well then, I guess talking to Sylphiel is more important than before. She's been a really good friend. I just can't stab her in the back like that."

"Things will work themselves out. I have confidence in that. Oh, and don't worry. I won't say anything about it to _anyone_." Lina regarded her friend with affection. The girl knew her better than anyone else, except maybe Gourry. Amelia was staring up through the thick mist with a dreamy expression on her face. Maybe something _else_ happened last night, too.

"So, what happened with you and Zel after we left?"

She sighed. "He _almost_ kissed me. But he held my hand for a really long time."

This time, it was Lina's turn to hug her, the feeling of wanting to slap her, a distant memory.

"I knew it! Well, what happened?"

Amelia related her romantic encounter and then sighed. "I was worried that he would back off completely after that, but he still smiled at me and held my hand. It felt so comfortable, so… right."

The feeling of Gourry's hand in hers returned, and Lina closed her eyes as well. "I know what you mean…"

"_Will you two get out of there? It's so boring out here! Hurry up!_" a familiar voice intruded in on their conversation. Shaking their heads, Lina and Amelia both stood and walked over to the door. Naga appeared disgusted at the sweat that had already begun to trickle down her face. "Ugh, it's so gross in here. How can you stand it? Let's get ready. Our massages and facials are in twenty minutes."

Shrugging her shoulders, Lina put on her robe and followed the older girl out the door, followed by her best friend.

Funny. Lina had planned this weekend so that Amelia and Zel would progress in their relationship, but it was her own relationship with Gourry that had shifted and changed. But it was okay, because she also had confidence that things would work themselves out.

And Lina would come out on top, because, let's face it, she _always_ did.

* * *

A/N: The 'Bali High Spa' is based on 'Spa Mandalay' in Las Vegas (at the Mandalay Bay Casino). My girlfriends and I went there for one of my girlfriend's bachelorette party. It was my first trip to a spa, and according to their various testimonies about different top-notch spas, this one was amazing. The place is really as I've described, though I didn't nearly do it enough justice. I wasn't sure about the number of showers or the number of seats in the vanity room, but think of it as artistic license. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to L.V. I wanna go back…

'Love Moves a Fingernail' is a line from Sting's _Ghost Story_. I've always thought of this song as a bittersweet ending for Zel and Amelia's canon tale (the lyrics are actually kind of sad), but I've always liked that one line. It seemed appropriate for the fact that for Lina, it was merely a shift in the way of looking at the same relationship that would allow her to cross that thin line into 'love'.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's been quite some time since I've updated this set of side-fics, but there are a few stories that need to be told. I'm slowly working my way through them. Hugs to **Kaeru Shisho**, **Ichiban Victory**, **SithKnight-Galen**, **Aisha C**, **Lina Gabriev**, **Ishy-Chan**, **Raven Summersong**, **jesphoenix05**, and **Shinsei Kage** for all your patience and your reviews. I hope everyone enjoys!

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	9. From the Sidelines

Disclaimer: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, _Of Life and Lemonade_, so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. Please don't sue.

Occurs around chapter 27 of _Life_.

**Chapter 9**

_**From the Sidelines**_

"Have you ever loved and hated the same person at the same time?

It is a confusing thing, love. It makes us do the most unbelievable things, both good_ and_ bad. Sometimes, you think that you are above such petty reactions, that you are old enough to be confident in yourself and your position in life, but then, something changes, something insignificant yet monumental in its impact, and _everything_ changes.

It is an irritant of some kind, not necessarily something as simple and mundane as a grain of sand that finds its way into an oyster and provokes the mollusk's natural response to coat the irritant with nacre over and over again until the irritant becomes transformed into a beautiful pearl. Of course, the pearl is still an irritant to the oyster; it's to those who appreciate its natural beauty that the pearl is valuable.

That is how I saw her.

Lina Inverse is so completely opposite from me. She is loud and impatient and obnoxious. She eats ten times her own body weight in food, yet never gains an ounce. She always seems to bounce off the walls and never lose any energy. When I met her for the first time, I could not believe what a whirlwind she was… actually, a tornado would be a better word for her. She seems, sometimes, to be a walking force of destruction.

But then, there is another side to her, one that I kept myself blind to for a long time. She is extremely loyal and caring. She is a genius without even trying. Her wit and her fist are two of the quickest things I have ever seen, and just try to cross someone she cares about, even just a little bit.

I met her when I was seventeen, a few weeks before my high school graduation. I was far from being a Valedictorian or anything special. I never did any sports in school. I sang in the choir and was a solid B student with two honors classes. Quiet and demure were the words people used to describe me.

Of course, it was true. I always did as my parents asked, and when my mother died, I took it upon myself to do everything that _she_ had done – to make up for some self- condemning feelings, I suppose. My mother was beautiful and perfect, and I always tried to be just like her. But I was awkward and silly as a child, so I thought I could never be like her. I still try to this day, but looking back, I am more aware that I need to be my own person.

But I digress. (I believe I'm trying to delay the inevitable.)

It was early May. I was working on all the last-minute projects for the year as well as waiting as patiently as I could for the acceptance letters to finally come in. I had applied to several colleges, including DBU and University of New Sairaag. My test scores had been average, and my two AP classes would translate into credits in either university, so I figured that all I needed to do was choose which one I wanted to attend.

So, it came as a surprise to me when I received the rejection letter from Atlas City. How could they have rejected me? 3.1 GPA. 1130 SAT's. Two AP classes. Of course, it was nothing spectacular, but certainly good enough for _that_ college. Atlas City was not my first choice, but it was still a _rejection_.

I did _not_ take it very well.

That night, I went down to the pier to try to clear the cobwebs from my mind and get myself in better spirits. I didn't want to call Filia, even though she and I always used to talk about what we would want to do in the future. We used to joke about being an EMT and a nurse and owning our own rescue service. She was going to graduate the next year and attend the same school that I did. But now, I didn't know if that would be possible. If Atlas City rejected me, and DBU or UNS had stricter requirements, I probably wouldn't stand a chance. So my mind began to weigh my other options.

It was while I was sitting alone on a bench on the pier at night when fate decided to give me a push in the most interesting direction. Now that I think about it, it _was_ pretty stupid of me to have been zoning out like that.

'Hey, babe. What's a pretty girl like you doing all alone out here?'

Darn it.

'Oh, hello,' I said stupidly. I stood up so that I would have more leverage if he tried to do anything. Tai Chi is not a very offensive martial art, but it allows for such fluidity of motion that it could be used for offense as well as defense. 'I'm just waiting for a friend,' I lied.

Glancing around, I noticed that the pier was mostly deserted: only a few guys fishing several yards away, and one person near the middle of the pier slowly making their way towards us.

'_I_ can be a friend.'

Gross.

'I should see if I can find them.' I took a step, and sure enough, the creep had the nerve to put his hand on me.

Using his momentum to unbalance him, I turned with him and flipped him to the concrete. Of course, my sympathetic nature was my undoing. I had never used Tai Chi in real life; it had always been in the dojo with my instructor or my fellow students. To have used it on an unsuspecting civilian was perhaps as shocking to me as it was to him.

'Oh, I'm sorry, sir! But, you see, you grabbed me, and it was just a natural reaction for me. Please forgive me!'

'Forgive?' He looked up at me, and I realized that my initial instinct had been the correct one. 'You… you little bi…'

'Hey, what's going on here?' someone asked nearby. We both looked towards the voice, and that's when I first saw her.

She appeared very young, perhaps fifteen or sixteen at the most, skinny, but with huge ruby-colored eyes and a wild mane of vibrant red hair that floated around her with the ocean breeze. Later, we would joke about her penchant for jumping into situations and being a "Crusader Rabbit" – someone who would fight someone's else's fights for them – but thinking back on it, I would not have it any other way.

'Mind your own business, Red,' the guy said, dusting himself off. 'This is between me and her.' He grabbed my upper arm.

The thought had crossed my mind to ask her for help, but noticing our height difference, I had assumed (wrongly, of course) that she would get hurt if she got involved in my problems. I was about to agree with him when her eyes met mine. I thought I had my emotions well under control, but that thought was quickly banished when she frowned.

'Looks like she thinks otherwise, pal. Let her go,' she demanded.

How cool…

Perhaps I was emboldened by her words. When the man tightened his grip on my arm, I rolled him to the ground again. The girl smiled at me when she stepped forward.

'That was pretty good. Tai Chi?' she asked. I was impressed that she knew so much.

'Yes, but anyone can do it,' I said, satisfied with myself. The guy was on his knees, trying to catch his breath. I guess he landed harder than I thought.

'I think you should have punched him, though,' she muttered as we stood side by side staring at him. 'Well, come on, let's get out of here.'

Listening to her, I stepped around him and we began to walk down the pier back towards the beach. I was about to introduce myself when the guy gave her a reason for her earlier words. I _should_ have punched him.

His hand had barely touched her arm when she suddenly became a blur of movement. I don't remember seeing anyone up until that point who was that fast. She had locked his hand in a painful-looking grip and punched him in the face, the chest and the stomach quickly in succession. Then, with her fingers rigid in the form of a claw, she turned and made a lightning fast jab to the man's groin, and then back to her side. He fell to the ground once more, this time clutching his face and his groin.

Wow…

'Hey, what're you bitches doin' to Frankie?'

I was prepared for them when they touched me. This time, the girl and I were both fighting them off, and somewhere in the distance I heard people on the beach yelling for help. The four guys who had been fishing were suddenly surrounding us, trying to get the upper hand. The girl was, by far, the better fighter, but I was still able to hold my own. She seemed impressed by the fact that none of them had been able to get a hold of me, but I was impressed by the fact that she had pretty much taken them all out single-handedly.

'Ha! That'll teach you to mess with Lina Inverse!' she declared with her foot on one of the guy's back. Her arms were crossed and she was laughing into the night sky. I thought she was brilliant. I couldn't help but giggle.

The horror of the next ten minutes will live with me forever.

It all happened so quickly. 'Frankie' appeared beside me, lunging towards me with a knife. I felt something hit me, and I landed hard on the concrete. Looking up, I realized that the girl called Lina Inverse had knocked me out of the way. She was holding her side, and the knife was dripping red.

She had been stabbed.

I heard myself yelling for help, but she had such a crazed look in her eyes that I was actually fearful for the man's safety.

He tried to stab her again, but in an amazing display of fluidity and grace, she caught his arm, pulled him towards her knee, and snaked her hand down his. In a flash, the knife was in _her_ hand, and she raised it above him, ready to… to…

'Stop it!' I yelled, throwing myself at her. I didn't know her, I didn't know anything about her past, but I knew that I didn't want her to hurt anyone. 'Please don't hurt him! Please? You'll get into trouble for someone who _doesn't_ deserve it. Please, Miss Lina!'

The knife fell to the ground, and she seemed to snap out of it. She looked at me with a little, almost embarrassed smile, and actually apologized, giving me an awkward pat on the back.

I guess it was because I was holding onto her that she was not able to react as quickly as she should have. I should have known that Frankie would not have left it at that. She pushed me away again, but the knife had already found her back. He punched her, and then did something that I would have never believed anyone would do.

He pushed her over the railing and into the waves below.

I heard a scream; it could have been mine. My body was suddenly moving. The thought had entered my mind, and before I could think about it long enough to talk myself out of it, I had acted. I took two steps, put a foot up on the rail and dove into the ocean after her.

Let me tell you, diving off a pier at night is a scary experience. I took lifeguard training classes the previous summer, but trying to negotiate the waves around the pylons and trying to find a _body _amidst all the floating kelp was a challenge that I never want to experience again. It took me what felt like an eternity, but in reality was perhaps only two minutes, to find her.

She was barely conscious, but her swimming instincts had taken over. Though it probably hurt her a lot, she had turned onto her back and floated along with the tides. When I found her, she had hit one of the pylons and went under. I grabbed her just in time and swam as quickly as I could to shore.

The paramedics were pulling up by the time I hauled her out onto the beach. Lights and sirens were everywhere; police and emergency medical technicians asking me all sorts of questions. I can't remember what I said, but I know I answered them, all the while holding onto this girl's hand as they worked on her. I demanded to go with them to the hospital, but then my father was there by my side, gently removing my fingers from hers. He spoke with the police, and as the ambulance drove away, I saw the men who attacked us being led away to several squad cars.

'Father, please,' I begged him later as he wrapped another blanket around me. I was still shaking after three hours. I had given a statement, my father had driven me home, I had taken a shower, and was now sitting in the middle of the living room dressed in sweats and wrapped in four blankets. 'I'm fine. I want to go to the hospital where they took Miss Lina. I want to see her and make sure that she's alright.'

'Sylphiel,' he said in his ever-patient voice. 'You can see her in the morning. You don't have school, so I'll take you there, okay?'

I couldn't really argue with that, so I agreed.

I visited her the very next day. I wasn't sure if they would allow me to see her, since I was not a relative, but an imposing young woman grabbed my arm when she heard me say my name to the nurses and dragged me down the hallway.

'So you're the one who got my sister into this mess,' she said to me. I nodded my head. She was so scary that I don't think I could have said anything if I wanted to. 'I'd normally be pissed off and probably tell you to shove off, but Lina told me what really happened. I'm actually quite proud of her. She stuck her neck out for someone she didn't even know. The runt's finally beginning to get it, I think.'

The last, I think, she was saying to herself more than to me.

'I'm Luna Inverse, by the way. Lina's older sister.' She smiled at me, and though I could not see her eyes behind her long bangs, I had a feeling she was looking me over.

I finally found my voice. 'My… my name is Sylphiel Nels Lahda.'

'I caught that,' she laughed, but whether or not it was _at_ me, I wasn't quite sure.

'I'm sorry. I'm really not thinking clearly right now. Is Miss Lina okay, then?'

'Yeah, she's doing fine. The doctors want to keep her here for a couple of days, and that's pissing her off, but she should be fine. Here, go talk to her. She's starting to get on my nerves with all that whining.'

'I do _not_ whine!' came a shout from the room, and Miss Luna grinned at me.

'Aw, shut up. Be nice. You've got a visitor.'

I poked my head around the corner and waved at her. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I thought for sure that she would be angry with me for getting her into such a mess, but instead, she smiled and waved me in.

'Hey, what are you doing here?' she asked. I walked in and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

'I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I was so scared for you last night.'

'Oh, you know. I always go diving off of piers at night after getting stabbed. It's no big deal. Hey, what's wrong? I'm only joking, you know…'

I suppose that was when I began to cry.

'I am _so_ sorry, Miss Lina. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off of that man… No! I shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place… _Ouch!_'

Lina had _flicked_ me! Right in the middle of my forehead!

'Stop it. That's no way of thinking. You were there for a reason, right? So was I, so it wouldn't have mattered either way. What happened, happened, so don't worry about it. I'm okay, and I actually got to meet someone new. What's your name, anyway?'

'Sylphiel. Sylphiel Nels Lahda.'

'Glad to have met you, Sylphiel. Hey, don't mind me being nosey, but what were you doing there anyway?'

'Oh.' In light of what had happened, it seemed a stupid reason after all. 'I got a rejection letter from college. I just had to clear my head, that's all.'

'Hn… That's too bad. Which one?'

'Atlas City…'

'What were you trying to major in?'

'Medicine. I want to try to be an EMT.'

'Cool! But, I thought that Atlas City was good for Math and Statistics and all that kinda crap.'

'Well, it is, but I figured I needed a safety net. That was my third choice.'

'So you didn't get a letter from your first two?'

'No. They usually send them out later. DBU and UNS. They have stricter guidelines for admittance, though.'

'Well, all you can do is wait, right? Do you have a back-up plan?'

Now I was getting career advice from a girl younger than me who I hardly knew?

'Um… no. Not really.'

'Not even an idea?'

'Well, I guess I really wanted to be a teacher…'

'What's wrong with that?'

'Teachers don't make much money, so that's why I was going to try to be an emergency medical technician.'

'Hmm… Well, if you don't get into any of those schools, do you have any idea about what you can do then? Like a kind of worse-case scenario?'

'Well…'

As a matter of fact, I _did_ have this insane idea. It was something that I had thought about, not in terms of a career path, but because _he_ was something I thought about.

I thought about him a lot.

Gourry Gabriev was the first boy to have ever paid me any attention. We were children then, eight and eleven years old in the same grade school. Though a normal eight-year-old's worries are hardly far-reaching, they are still the world to a child. Looking back, I can see that mine were no different. I thought that being bullied was something that I just had to accept as part of life. I had even learned how to hide really well at lunch-time so that the kids wouldn't find me and take my food.

My lunches were simple, but since I made them myself, I was very proud of them. I never ate with anyone, and I never ate in the same place twice. At least I tried to.

One day, I forgot that I had eaten lunch behind the hedge next to the playground the day before, and when I rounded the corner with my lunch box, _they_ were there waiting for me. The shortest boy, of course, was the first one to push me back. I tripped and landed right on my butt, but I held onto my lunch. Then the taller one tried taking my lunch, but I held tight onto it. I shut my eyes and was about to scream for help (which never came in time whenever I did before) when the two boys suddenly let go and took off running.

When I looked up, that's when I saw him.

His hair was long, even back then. He was my knight in shining armor, my protector!

He asked if I was okay, and when I nodded, he helped me up. Dusting myself off, I did the only thing I could think of to thank him.

I offered him half of my lunch.

And that's how it happened. From then on, I made sure to make double portions of lunch, and Gourry would find me, and we would eat lunch together. The other kids would call us names, and tell him that he's got himself a little girlfriend, but he just smiled and said that if that meant that he can eat my cooking every day, then he didn't care.

Things stayed that way for three wonderful years, but I didn't ever really get to know him any better than on the day we met. He only met me for lunch, and even then, we never really talked about anything important. It was only after I met and became friends with Filia that I noticed that anything was wrong. _She_ was the one who asked me why I didn't know more about him, and why he didn't hang out with me outside of lunchtimes.

It hurt my feelings to think that he didn't like me the way that I liked him. After all, didn't he say that he didn't care if they said that he had a girlfriend? Wasn't that what I was?

I was so naïve.

Before he graduated and went on to high school, I had to tell him how I felt. I had to let him know. But when I told him, 'I like you,' all he said was, 'Oh. Well, I liked all those great lunches, Sylphiel.'

And then he was gone.

I ended up going to Montgomery while he went to North, but I never got picked on again. By that time, I guess I had become what people called 'pretty', though _I_ never thought so. After all, the one guy who I had a crush on, only liked me because of my cooking. But that was enough, wasn't it?

'Hello! Earth calling! Hey, Sylphiel!'

'Sorry, Miss Lina. My mind wandered a little.'

'Were you thinking about what you'd like to do?'

I could feel my cheeks heating up. 'Well, there's this guy that I really like…'

'A boyfriend?'

'Oh, not really, but I've loved him forever.' I sighed. 'He's gone into the police force, so I was just thinking…'

Lina's face lit up and she clenched her fist. 'Wow! That's cool. If I loved someone as much as that, I'd definitely follow him. No, nothing stalker-like, but if he was doing something that I'd even be remotely interested in, I'd do it. If I got rejected from college, I'd join up right away!'

She said what I _wanted_ to do, but would never get the guts _to_ do.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other, and we found out that we shared some friends in common. Filia and Val were friends of hers, so I knew that she was special, especially when she knew how difficult Val was and was _still_ his friend.

When she was released, I kept in touch with her, and we spent the afternoons after school at the mall or at the park. She got better quickly, and the guilt I had felt slowly disappeared in light of our new friendship. She was everything that I wasn't, but I didn't envy her. Instead, I tried to be like her. I cherished our new friendship, and she was there with me when I opened my acceptance letter to UNS, my very first choice. She hugged me, and though we had only known each other for a couple of short weeks, I decided that she was indeed one of my very best friends.

Graduation was a great thing for me. Finally, I was able to go to college and concentrate on learning something that I could actually use in life. Though the enticement to join the force was there, I was excited to go to New Sairaag. That was where my father went to medical school and met my mother. It held so much for me that I couldn't wait to go.

Walking down the aisle to receive my diploma felt like a door closing on a chapter of my life. This was the last time I would be at this school as a student. I was so happy. As I was returning to my seat, I looked through the bleachers and found Filia. She was there to cheer me on, sitting in the bleachers with her foster brother. My father was holding the balloon bouquet that they had brought me, and Val was looking up at them with disgust, but I thought they were wonderful. Mylar balloons full of greetings of 'Con_graduat_ions!' and 'Great Job!' and 'Good Luck'…

And then I saw them.

I could hardly miss Lina sitting there, with her easy-to-spot hair, but what made my heart turn over was the sight of Gourry, sitting there with her.

I almost fainted right then and there, but the girl behind me nudged me forward into my seat. I sat there for a long time, not listening to the list of names being read, or the applause that echoed through the hall. All I could think about was why she was sitting there with Gourry. I had invited her, of course, but I didn't invite him. His parents had passed on, and he was living on his own now, but I didn't know where he lived. I hadn't seen or spoken with him in four years, so how could I have even invited him?

But I could recognize his face anywhere.

'Congrats, Sylphiel!' everyone was saying. Lina gave me a great big hug, and I couldn't push her away. She didn't know about Gourry, so how could she know how jealous I was to see him with her?

'Thanks,' I said weakly.

Lina pulled my arm. 'Hey, guess what? This guy I know said that he knows you, too. Come on, let me introduce you.'

And I came face-to-face with the only guy I've ever loved.

'H… hi,' I whispered.

He looked at me and smiled. I thought I was going to die.

'Hi… Sylphiel, right?'

Oh. I could die right then.

'Yeah.'

'Hey, good to see you again! They aren't still picking on you, are they?'

I laughed. 'No, Gourry-dear,' I said automatically. I used to call him that at school, but now, years later, it sounded rather… presumptuous.

'Dear?' I heard Lina mutter. I couldn't say exactly why, but that only made me want to say it even more.

'How've you been?' I asked him.

'Oh, pretty good. When Lina said that she was coming to your graduation, I remembered your cooking and our lunches, so I had to come, too.'

To see me, or to eat more of my cooking? For some reason, it didn't really matter to me. He was here. That was all that mattered. He gave me a half hug… well, I guess he really just threw his arm around my shoulder and squeezed my arm. Buddy-like. It's the only time he had ever shown me affection at all. Someone took a picture of us standing there with his arm around my shoulders. It's the picture I still have on my nightstand, even now.

We all went out to eat a late lunch at a wonderful Chinese restaurant, and I was the guest of honor. Still reeling from coming face to face with my childhood crush, I hardly touched my food. I watched them out of the corner of my eye, and I became so jealous of how close they already seemed.

How did they meet? Why did he dote on her? How could two people eat so much food at one sitting?

I wanted to dislike her. I wanted to hate her. But when I opened my present from Lina, I couldn't help but love her. She had given me a lab coat with my name embroidered on it, a pair of handcuffs, and a box of chalk and a felt eraser. Her card read:

_Dear Sylphiel,  
__No matter what you chose in life, I hope you know that I'll back you up, 100 percent! Keep your dreams alive in your heart, and one day, you'll find that your dreams will become a reality.  
__Love,  
__Your friend, Lina_

Trying not to cry, I hugged Lina tightly before moving on to the next present. Her relationship with Gourry didn't matter; it wasn't like they were boyfriend-girlfriend or anything like that. They even said so when Filia asked Lina about them. So, I guess I could overlook their closeness for now.

But that seed of doubt was planted, and even as I went up to UNS for my interview and my meeting with my student mentor, I wondered about their relationship and how it would flourish without me there in Saillune. So I did something rash and foolish, some would say.

'Attend UNS on an absentee basis?' Hideaki, my student mentor asked me.

'Well, I read something about attending my classes once every month for tests, but I would be doing the homework and papers via correspondence. I wanted to do something like that.'

He rubbed the back of his head as he thought about it. 'Well, I guess we can sign you up for those kinds of classes, but if you don't mind me asking, why don't you want to come to school?'

'I am going to enter the Saillune police academy, but I still want to be able to attend UNS.'

That must have shocked him because his mouth dropped open. 'You're going to be a police officer?'

I sighed. 'I don't really feel like getting into all that right now. Would you be able to help me out?'

He did, and by the end of the day, we had my schedule of classes worked out, as well as the testing schedule for the upcoming semester. I thanked him, but as I got up to leave, he stopped me.

'Hey, it's getting late, and you were my last appointment. Did you want to have dinner with me?' I must have stared at him, because he waved his hand in front of my face. 'Hello? Sylphiel?'

'Oh! Um… sure, I guess. I just have to make sure I'm at my aunt's house before dark.'

'That shouldn't be a problem. Here, let me carry your things.' He took my backpack and slung it over his shoulder and led me across campus to a little Thai restaurant in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. When we entered, the place was packed with people, and several of them yelled greetings to him.

'Wow. You seem to know a lot of people,' I said as I sat in the chair at the tiny table. The waiter brought us two small metal bowls of water that I wasn't sure what they were for. He picked his up and drank from it.

Oh. So they were our water cups.

'Yeah. I guess it's pretty weird since this is only my second year at UNS.'

'Really? I thought you were much older than me.'

He laughed. 'No, but I am pretty popular,' he said, and he shook his hair back out of his face. That was… strange.

We ate, and discussed my upcoming classes. He said that I reminded him of one of his over-achiever friends, and I had to convince him that I was far from it. I wasn't an over-achiever. I was a weak person who couldn't trust my friend with the love of my life.

When I returned home the next day, my father was upset to discover that I was going to be taking correspondence classes instead of actually attending his alma mater. It was difficult getting him to believe that joining the academy was what I really wanted to do. In fact, the only person who backed me up in my decision was Lina.

The next year was the most difficult I had ever had in my entire academic life.

If it wasn't bad enough that the classes I took at UNS ate up every bit of my free time, the physical aspects of the police academy were extremely demanding. I pushed myself as hard as I could, concentrated to learn everything in class, and allotted time to study my college classes as well. I don't remember even seeing Filia that year, but Lina always found the time to drop by every now and then, to pull me away from my miserable existence for an hour to relax and have fun. I think I would have gone insane if it hadn't been for her.

'You shouldn't beat yourself up so much, Sylphiel,' she told me one day, a month before my last set of finals for UNS. 'You're doing so much more than anyone could possibly imagine. So what if you got a "C" in Chemistry? You still passed, right?'

I nodded as I shoveled a spoonful of my banana split into my mouth.

'And you're getting good marks at the academy, right?'

I nodded again; shoveled more ice cream again.

'So why are you crying?' she asked gently.

I couldn't help it, I suppose. It was too much for me to handle. 'Did you ever make a mistake, Miss Lina, one that you had to stick by because you've put too much into it?'

'I don't know. I guess so. But the question here is which one was the mistake: the academy or UNS?'

I thought about it. I wondered if I could possibly tell her.

I chickened out.

'Both at the same time, I guess. I should have picked one or the other.'

'Well, you can always quit one.' She shrugged her shoulders and finished off her sundae.

'I suppose…'

But I didn't. I stuck with it, and by the end of the year, I finished the academy in the middle of my class, with nothing remarkable to make me stand out. I finished my first year of college as well, with nothing remarkable to make me stand out. So, which road should I follow? Which path should I take?

I saw a familiar face a couple of hours before the commencement ceremony at the academy. If I could remember correctly, he was Gourry's partner.

'Excuse me, Mister Zelgadiss?'

He turned around and looked for who called him. I gave him a little wave and he stopped.

'Can I help you?' he asked curtly. He was very handsome, and I found myself momentarily speechless.

'Oh… Um, you're Gourry Gabriev's partner, right?'

He looked me up and down, and I had the feeling that whatever was going on in his mind was not positive.

'I _used_ to be his partner. What did you want?'

'Oh. Well, I… I guess nothing. Sorry to bother you.' I had started to leave when he stopped me.

'Wait. I'm sorry.' He sounded exasperated, but his expression softened. 'You're a friend of his?'

'Yes. I'm Sylphiel.'

'Sylphiel.' He shook my hand. 'You're a cadet here?'

'Yes. How did you… Oh.' I guess it would have been obvious to anyone who saw me wearing the cadet uniform. I gave him an embarrassed smile. 'Yes. I'm graduating soon.'

'Congratulations. Was there something you wanted to ask me, Sylphiel?'

I wanted to ask him so much about Gourry. I hadn't seen him at all the whole year, but I didn't want to burden someone I didn't really know with my problems. I guess I wanted to know that everything I had been through would be worth it, that I might possibly be able to work with Gourry one day…

Instead, I said, 'No. Nothing. Can you just tell him that I said, "hello"?'

I turned around and was about to leave when he put his hand on my arm to stop me.

'You can tell him yourself,' he said with a grin. 'I'm on my way to meet him right now.'

'Oh. Okay.'

I followed Zelgadiss into the building, and up a flight of stairs. He knocked on an office and opened the door. There, before me, sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area, was Gourry.

'Look who I found on the way here, Gourry,' Zelgadiss said, ushering me inside.

'Hey, Sylphiel!' Gourry said, and he smiled when he saw me. I melted under that smile.

'Hi, Gourry-dear.'

I don't remember what we spoke about exactly. I think it had something to do with seeing him on my graduation days: both for high school and for the academy. I was in heaven; my head was in the clouds. But before long, whoever they had wanted to see was ready for them, and both he and Zelgadiss said their goodbyes to me. I walked back outside where I met my class and finished getting ready for the ceremony. That, too, was a blur, and I don't even remember my name being called.

So I had completed the academy. Should I enter the police force right away? Should I continue my studies at UNS? I was floating along, with too many possibilities this time instead of none.

It wasn't until Zelgadiss appeared at my side after the ceremony that I considered something completely different.

'Sylphiel, right?'

'Yes.'

'Congratulations. I'm sorry about being short with you before.'

'Oh, that's okay.'

'Gourry said that he was surprised to see that you wanted to become a cop. He said that it didn't seem like something you would do.'

I giggled nervously. Those were my thoughts as well, but I didn't want anyone to know it. 'Well, I guess there's only one way to find out.'

He looked seriously at me. 'It's one thing to do something just because it's what he did. It's another to do it because it's something _you_ really want to do. It's not meant as a criticism, but you really don't want to be a cop, do you?'

I tried to stick out my chin and be defiant, but there was something about his demeanor that made me tell him the truth.

'No. Not really,' I admitted. 'But, please, don't tell anyone.'

He chuckled. 'No. I won't tell anyone. But you should think really hard about what it is that _you_, Sylphiel, want to do. Something that doesn't have anything to do with Gourry or your parents or your relatives or your friends. What do _you_ want to do?'

I looked at him, and it seemed that there was something about him that I could identify with. I wondered if there was something that he really wanted to do that he wasn't allowed to do, but I kept my questions to myself. If I got to know him better, maybe one day, I'd ask him.

I spent the summer trying to figure out exactly what it was I wanted to do. I didn't join the force, much to my father's relief. He hardly harped on the fact that I had spent so much valuable time and money on that venture, but I still felt the guilt. I had finished all of my general education requirements my first year of college and could now concentrate on anything my major required. After thinking long and hard on it, I finally decided that what I really wanted to do was teach…

Hideaki was invaluable again, as I finally decided to enroll full time at UNS. He had a whole schedule worked out for me, though I had only told him the day before, and he was even in the process of scouting out prospective apartments for me. I laughed at his enthusiasm, but he took it all in, saying that I would thank him for it later.

So, I was set to go into teaching, when my life suddenly took a sharp turn, upending all my plans as well as my heart.

My father was shot.

It was the day before I was set to go back to New Sairaag after finalizing my schedule. I had been packing for the weekend when the phone rang. Picking it up, expecting it to be Hideaki pestering me for a date when I arrived, but it wasn't. It was the Saillune PD, informing me that my father had been caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting.

This was not happening.

My hands went numb. I dropped the phone. I grabbed my purse and my keys and flew out the door.

This was not happening.

I had barely put the car into park before I was running into the emergency room, demanding to know where he was, how he was doing, what was being done for him.

This was not happening.

And then the doctor emerged, found me, and explained that they had stabilized him, but that he had lost a lot of blood, and that there was a lot of brain damage.

This was not happening.

So I saw him, lying there, his head bandaged, his chest bandaged, tubes down his throat, down his nose, in his arms, a machine doing the breathing for him.

This was not happening.

And then, as I sat there, holding his hand, his cold, pale hand, telling him that he couldn't leave me, that he couldn't leave because he needed to save people's lives, that people needed Doctor Nels Lahda, the monitor flat-lined and I was escorted out of the room, away from him, away from my family, away from my father.

This was not happening!

I sat there, in the emergency waiting room, crying into my hands, hoping for something I knew would never happen, trying to understand how my life had taken this turn. I felt sick. I couldn't go on like this. My father wasn't supposed to leave me. He wasn't supposed to die…

I don't know when someone put their arms around me tenderly, patting my back, saying soothing things. I didn't realize that when the doctor came to tell me that my father had passed, I had tried to hit him, to kick him, to rail against him because there _had_ to be something that he could do. After all, my father had been able to save people, why couldn't he?

But someone stopped me, wrapped comforting arms around me and held me still, allowed me to cry into a strong shoulder. Only when my tears had subsided, and the voice told me to say goodbye to my father, did I finally take her hand and allow her to lead me to the room. Only then, did I let Lina take me where I needed to be, tell me what I needed to say, make me do what I needed to do.

She helped me fill out any paperwork, drove me home that night, stayed with me, and was my voice when I needed something to say. She called Hideaki and explained what happened, and had him take care of everything for me. Filia came over with her parents, and helped me make the necessary preparations for my father. I was a zombie. Nothing mattered.

But then Lina said something to me that helped me to cope.

'Your father told me once – I think it was at your high school graduation – that he was proud of you regardless of what you chose to do. He wanted you to follow in his footsteps, but he wanted you to make footsteps of your own, so that he could be proud that you could walk on your own. He knew he wouldn't be here forever, it's just… it came a lot sooner than any of us wanted. But he wanted you to shine, Sylphiel. He wanted you to be happy.'

I cried for days, but Lina's words helped to ease the pain. When it came time for me to go back to school, I took a deep breath, and tried to go on with my life. I decided to take the EMT program, and hunkering down, was able to finish in a little over a year. With the rest of my third year, I decided to take those teaching classes that Hideaki had suggested for me. I buried myself in school, and let the rest of the world disappear around me.

When I graduated, I decided not to walk; graduating without my father standing there would have been too much for me to take. I moved back home and tried to regain my life in Saillune.

I was able to see Gourry and Lina more often, but their relationship still confused me. It was clear to everyone around them that they had feelings for each other, but I refused to see it. It hurt too much to see that my one true love was in love with someone else, but I endured. Perhaps one day, Lina would let go of him, or vice versa. Maybe then,I could finally have the lifeI had dreamed of.

But life, once again, had other ideas for me.

Lina called me the other night. She wanted to meet me at the pier where we had met. She sounded upset, and I wondered what was wrong. I never knew anything that could make Lina upset.

When I saw her, she was staring out at the dark ocean, lost in its depth and mystery. She saw me and smiled, and I suddenly felt as if something was very wrong.

'Hi, Miss Lina.'

'Hi, Sylphiel.'

We stood next to each other, leaning on the rail, looking at the rising and falling water. Finally, after a few minutes, I had to know.

'So, what's wrong?' For the first time, she was speechless. 'Miss Lina?'

'Sylphiel,' she began. 'I don't know what to do…'

'About what?'

Lina looked at me, and she looked absolutely miserable. 'I… I haven't done anything… all this time. I thought that if I pretended that it wasn't there… nothing would happen. But… but I…'

I didn't know what she was talking about. 'Maybe if you just say it outright.'

She glanced up at me, and I suddenly got a horrible feeling. 'Sylphiel, Gourry and I… well, we kissed.'

I blinked.

'I didn't plan it. In fact, I've been trying to avoid it for so long, but… but it just happened. I didn't want to do anything, Sylphiel, I swear! I… I know how you feel about him, so I tried so hard not to do anything. I didn't want… I _don't_ want to hurt you.'

And then she did something that I never thought I would ever see.

Lina cried.

'I like him, but I've been trying so hard not to. I just wanted to be friends. I was happy with that. But… but… it's _Gourry_. I couldn't help it. Sylphiel, I swear, I won't do anything if you don't want me to. I'll even stop… I'll stop spending time with him, if you want…'

The tears were streaming down her face, and she looked so sad that I couldn't help the words that came out next.

'Do you love him?'

Without hesitation, she nodded her head. 'Yes.'

My heart broke.

'Take good care of him,' I said, and that was when tears began to fall down my cheeks. I hugged her, holding onto her tightly. She returned my embrace, and she cried into my shoulder.

'You'll still be my friend, right? she asked, hiccupping.

'Of course.'

'Promise?'

I promised…

Hideaki called me up a few months ago, and only now, I am finally deciding to do something for _myself_, not for Gourry, not for my father. For _me_. Hideaki's a teacher's assistant now at UNS, and he wanted to find out if I would be interested in finally finishing up the couple of classes I needed to be certified to teach. He had said that there was a teaching position opening up at the university in a few months, and that I would be the perfect candidate for the job.

I think I might just take him up on that offer.

I feel as if I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, the ocean majestic and calm before me, yet churning and destructive below. I can easily step off the brink and give myself over to the devastation awaiting me. I can just as easily step back and watch the show from the safety of inconsequence.

I thought for a while that I would hate Lina. I thought that I would hate Gourry, as well, but after all we've been through, I honestly can't. There's a fine line between love and hate, and I think I'll retreat from the field and watch from the sidelines. After all, I truly love them both.

It is time for me to stand on my own."

* * *

Amelia watched as Sylphiel rolled the large pearl earring between her fingers before placing it beside its pair in the box. 

"She's so much like this pearl," Sylphiel said, lightly touching the pink-tinged orb before closing the box on the earrings. "Lina began as something irritating, but the years have wrapped her in so many precious layers of happy memories."

She began to wrap the box in silver paper.

"I know I'm a coward, asking you to give this to her," she said with a small smile. She measured out a length of red and silver ribbon and cut it.

"Well, now I understand why you want to avoid her, Miss Sylphiel. But… but there's got to be something…"

Sylphiel held up her hand and stopped Amelia from continuing.

"It's also hard for her, too, Miss Amelia. We're still friends, but that doesn't mean that I should have to see _him_ again. I don't want to make things awkward."

Amelia watched Sylphiel finish wrapping Lina's gift. "It hurts that much, huh?"

Despite everything, she took a deep breath and smiled.

"It will always hurt, I think. But it's already becoming a dull ache. I think it's about time someone liked me for me, and not for my cooking."

Sylphiel winked, and Amelia wrapped her in a big Seyruun hug. Releasing her, she declared, "I'll make sure she gets these."

"Give her my love… Give them _both_ my love," Sylphiel said, and the heaviness in her heart lightened. She was confused at how surprisingly easy that was. Maybe she _could_ get through this heartbreak.

No. She _would_ get through it.

She would survive.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was extremely difficult for me to write, since I'm not overly fond of Sylphiel as a character. I thought of her as a flat, shallow character (but then again, when I first watched Slayers, I believed that Amelia was the same, and she's my favorite one!). I figured the best way for me to understand her was to write _as_ her. I found that as I wrote, she became more rounded, deeper than I thought she could be. By the end, I found that I could sympathize with her plight and her heartache. I don't believe she'll make another appearance in _L&L_ or in _WML _any time soon, but she's definitely made me realize that she can be an interesting character after all. 

Thank you to everyone who's read these little side stories, and I hope you enjoyed this one. (A special set of thanks to jesphoenix05 for the idea of the 'ninja lunches'. _Hugs!_) 

As per new ffnet rules, I can't post my replies, so I shall do so via their system. For you who reviewed without signing in, thank you for your votes of confidence! Thanks for everyone for keeping with me, and I hope you enjoyed this one! _Hugs_ to you all!

Click the button and review!


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